Row, row, row your teamGently down the STREAMFantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasyTitle's not a dream
In these crazy times, fantasy GMs need to be flexible and quick to react. Plenty of games are being postponed, and plenty of fantasy lineups are remaining unfilled. This is where streaming can come in handy and fill those holes left by poor schedules or game postponements.
Here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 5.
Just one word before we go deep into next week. I've been getting some amazing replies to my posts in the past few weeks, and thank you guys so much for this!
I just wanted to let you know that the whole RotoBaller crew is working hard to help fantasy GMs out, and there is a ton of quality stuff on plenty of topics on our website, so if you're looking for information about something else as well, you can probably find it here: https://www.rotoballer.com/category/nba-fantasy-basketball-advice

NBA Schedule Guide - Week 5

Very obvious week for streaming. Tuesday with two and Thursday with three will be the days we focus on. All other days have between seven and 13 games played so fantasy GMs should have less difficulty filling up the lineups there.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors

Teams with 3 games:
Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Teams with 2 games:
None

Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 20
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 22
Thursday: 6
Friday: 26
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 16

Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: -
Wednesday/Thursday: GSW
Thursday/Friday: MIL, NYK
Friday/Saturday: BKN, CHI, DAL, DEN, DET, HOU, MIA, MIN, PHI, PHO
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: BOS, CHA, CLE, IND, MEM, OKC, ORL, POR, SAC, SAS, TOR

Days with SIX or fewer games:
Tuesday: 2 games
Thursday: 3 games

Teams playing on both Tuesday and Thursday:
New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)

Teams playing on Tuesday:
Denver Nuggets (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)

Teams playing on Thursday:
Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Milwaukee Bucks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
New York Knicks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)
New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)

Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)

Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
Milwaukee Bucks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
New York Knicks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)

Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Boston Celtics (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Charlotte Hornets (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Chicago Bulls (3 games - Mon, Fri, Sun)
Cleveland Cavaliers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Denver Nuggets (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Indiana Pacers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Los Angeles Clippers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Philadelphia 76ers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Washington Wizards (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)

Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
None

Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 5

Absolute stars of this week will be players from the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz. Although both teams have just three games this week, they play on both two-game Tuesday and three-game Thursday, along with Saturday which has the next fewest games with seven.
Furthermore, streaming players from these teams potentially allows you to have a five-game week from the streaming spot. Now, this is in an ideal situation, but you could have a guy play on Monday, then cut him in favor of a player from NOP or UTA, keep him until Saturday and then drop for another player who has a game on Sunday. Keep in mind though that you're probably not the only one streaming in your league so these players won't just wait around for you to pick them up. So it might be worth more to pick one of these guys up before Tuesday if you think they could be gone by then.
There are two more teams that play on Tuesday (Denver and Oklahoma City with three games apiece this week), and four more that play on Thursday (Golden State, Milwaukee and New York with four games and LA Lakers with three). We will be taking a look at their players as well.
One important thing to remember here though is to always check whether any new games have been postponed before adding a player based on his schedule.

Streaming Options for Week 5

Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week (Rostered in 25-75 % of Yahoo leagues):
Josh Hart, SG/SF, NOP, (27% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Bojan Bogdanovic, SF/PF, UTA, (71% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (67% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Will Barton, SG/SF, DEN, (56% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, a bit of everything
Paul Millsap, PF/C, DEN, (40% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK/STL
Darius Bazley, SF/PF, OKC, (54% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, a bit of everything
Hamidou Diallo, SG/SF, OKC, (37% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Luguentz Dort, OKC, (25% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB
George Hill, PG/SG, OKC, (25% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, FT%, 3PM
Donte Divincenzo, PG/SG, MIL, (70% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Bobby Portis, PF/C, MIL, (60% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Elfrid Payton, PG, NYK, (60% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Alec Burks, PG/SG, NYK, (44% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT% - buyer beware: still hasn't returned from injury at the moment of writing this
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, NYK, (30% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: plays very limited minutes
Marc Gasol, C, LAL, (27% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK
Kyle Kuzma, SF/PF, LAL, (41% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS

Shallower League Add

Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (67% Rostered)
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
If by any chance you're in a league shallow enough that Clarkson is still sitting on your waiver wire,
in case you need some help in threes, points and FT% and don't care too much about turnovers don't waste too much time pondering whether to pick him up or not.
Clarkson is the offensive leader of Utah's second unit and is averaging 13.4 field goal attempts per game (6.9 from beyond the arc). He is using his 25 minutes a game quite effectively with averages of 17.1 points, 2.9 3-pointers, 48.4% from the field, 93.3% from the line, 4.8 boards, 1.8 dimes, 0.9 steals, 0.3 blocks and 2.1 turnovers. This has him ranked inside the top 80 on Yahoo.
These stats are not too much out of the ordinary for Jordan, although he is rebounding a bit more, but is also turning the ball over more than usual. Therefore, he should be on a similar level next week as well, and with games on such scarce days, he could prove vital to you winning your matchup.
Furthermore, Utah plays two games against the Pelicans and one against the Warriors. Neither of these teams have had trouble with Covid so there is less risk of the games being postponed.

Deeper League Add

Royce O'Neale, SF/PF, UTA, (23% Rostered)
Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
First of all, if someone told me that I would be recommending O'Neale as a pickup at the start of the season, I would have thought that Utah would have to have seven games that week, and he would still be in the "Insanely Deep" category. But lately, we are witnessing crazier things happen than O'Neale playing some of his best ball so far, so why the hell not?
His role on the Jazz team is that of a three-and-D role player who usually just sits in the corner on offense and waits to launch a three, occasionally running down the court for a transition basket. Rarely is the ball in his hands to try to create a scoring opportunity for himself or others. The fact that he is playing close to 32 minutes a game and is averaging 5.0 shot attempts says it all. And that is completely fine, just not that attractive for fantasy purposes.
Now, things didn't change drastically with Royce's role, but he is doing everything he does just a little bit better. Averages of 7.3 PTS with 1.8 3PM on 50.0 FG% and 62.5 FT%, 7.4 REB, 2.3 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.4 BLK and 1.1 TO are enough for him to be ranked at #103 in Yahoo leagues.
If you like what O'Neale brings to the table, which is a little bit of everything, you could do worse in deep leagues. And with such a low usage rate, he is a pretty safe bet that he won't hurt your fantasy team too much even on an off night.

Insanely Deep League Add

Immanuel Quickley, PG, NYK, (9% Rostered)
Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, FT%
Immanuel could prove to be both a streaming, but also a season-long pickup. Elfrid Payton is the designated starter at the PG position in New York at the moment, and we all know how much their coach Tom Thibodeau likes to play his starters plenty of minutes, but Quickley has been outplaying Payton in their last two games. Even Thibs said that everything is under consideration, so if Quickley was to take over the starting role and get 30 minutes a night, that would be huge for him and his fantasy value.
His upside was flashed quite brightly in the previous two contests with him scoring a combined 42 points (16-of-32 from the field, 4-of-5 from the line) with six 3-pointers, along with seven boards, seven dimes, two steals, a block and just one turnover in 25 minutes a game.
With four games (one of which is on the scarce Thursday) next week, Quickley is worth a gamble in deep formats and could pay dividends on this investment for months to come.

Other Deep League Options for the Week (Rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo leagues)

Jaxson Hayes, C, NOP, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, SG/SF, NOP, (21% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS - buyer beware: could see a drop in minutes upon Lonzo Ball's return
J.J. Redick, SG, NOP, (12% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS
Royce O'Neale, SF/PF, UTA, (23% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Joe Ingles, SG/SF, IND, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, a little bit of everything - buyer beware: missed his previous couple of games due to Achilles soreness
Georges Niang, SF/PF, UTA, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM - buyer beware: should see a drop in minutes upon Joe Ingles' return
Derrick Favors, PF/C, UTA, (11% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: plays just 16 minutes a game so far this season
Gary Harris, SG/SF, DEN, (18% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, a bit little of everything - buyer beware: missed his previous couple of games due to personal reasons
Monte Morris, PG/SG, DEN, (20% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, FT%, 3PM
P.J. Dozier, PG/SG, DEN, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM
JaMychal Green, PF/C, DEN, (16% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Facundo Campazzo, PG, DEN, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, 3PM
Mike Muscala, PF/C, OKC, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT% - positive circumstance: more minutes while Al Horford is out
Theo Maledon, PG, OKC, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST - positive circumstance: rookie factor
Isaiah Roby, PF/C, OKC, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, FG% - positive circumstance: more minutes while Al Horford is out
Aleksej Pokusevski, SF, OKC, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, BLK - positive circumstance: rookie factor
Kenrich Williams, SF/PF, OKC, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB - positive circumstance: more minutes while Al Horford is out
Kevon Looney, PF/C, GSW, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL
Eric Paschall, SF/PF, GSW, (12% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB
Kent Bazemore, SG/SF, GSW, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, REB
Brad Wanamaker, PG/SG, GSW, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM AST
Damion Lee, SG/SF, GSW, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Bryn Forbes, PG/SG, MIL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
D.J. Augustin, PG, MIL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST
Pat Connaughton, SG/SF, MIL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, FT%, STL
Austin Rivers, SG/SF, NYK, (19% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Kevin Knox II, SF/PF, NYK, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Immanuel Quickley, PG, NYK, (9% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, FT%
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PG/SG, LAL, (13% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL - buyer beware: sprained his ankle on Friday (Jan 1st), no news on his availability yet)
Talen Horton-Tucker, SG/SF, LAL, (10% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FT%, REB, STL/BLK
Wesley Matthews, SG/SF, LAL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Alex Caruso, PG/SG, LAL, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL - buyer beware: is currently in COVID-19 protocols - check his availability before adding
Markieff Morris, PF/C, LAL, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB

Hopefully, some of these guys will help you win your next week's matchup and get you that one step closer to winning the whole thing!

As the Washington Wizards were finalizing plans to go finish the 2019-20 NBA season in the Orlando bubble, then-Wizards guard John Wall had plans of his own — but needed to make a phone call and a request first.
Technically, Wall says he could have joined the Wizards in the bubble — and even played — but wanted to make sure his body was better than ever before stepping back on the basketball court.
“Well, I was already ready to come back on the court before the pandemic,” Wall told The Athletic in an exclusive interview. “I could have played last season around the All-Star break or even in the bubble. But I wanted to wait until I felt I was 110 percent to be back where I wanted to be. That’s what I did and that’s why I’m getting off to a good start this season.”
Wall had been sidelined since January 2019, getting surgery on his left heel on Jan. 8 before rupturing his left Achilles tendon three weeks later after a fall at home. As part of his rehab process, Wall worked closely with Wizards assistant coach Alex McClean, with the point guard opting to continue his recovery process in Miami, where he spends his offseasons away from his Potomac home. Although Wall and McClean were part of the same organization, the two have a longstanding close relationship dating to McClean’s playing days at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
Beginning during the Las Vegas Summer League in July 2019 and continuing for the next three months, Wall and McClean worked out, starting with some light activities before slowly ramping up their schedule. At first, Wall could only walk. When McClean first got down to Miami, Wall couldn’t run or jump. Doing anything involving putting weight on his toes was painful, so a lot of emphasis was put on his set shot, essentially the only thing he could do. Wall had to tweak his muscle memory just to get the familiar feeling back. Some months later, Wall could jog again. When training camp and the season rolled around and Wall could do more with his legs, he would workout either at the team facility in D.C. when the Wizards were at home or would find gyms when the team went on the road.
Like Wall, McClean had torn his Achilles before — both, in fact. While he didn’t have the sort of career that Wall had, he still knew the pain and process rehabbing that sort of injury entailed.
Right before the world was hit with the coronavirus pandemic, Wall had actually been working out with some of the Wizards players. A rusty Wall wasn’t in game shape but still shone as the best player on the floor — he just needed fine-tuning. So in the summer of 2020, as the Wizards coaching staff was getting ready to make the trip from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Wall asked the organization if McClean could join him in Miami instead — to which they happily obliged.
“I had been living there before I got injured,” Wall said of Miami. “The year before, I had built a house there, so that’s why I rehabbed there. I had another guy that I trusted with the PT work and weightlifting process. And then I brought a guy, Alex McClean, who works for the Wizards to come and do my basketball workouts (with me). So bringing that all together, that’s a few that were part of my team and helped me put in the work that I did.”
With the duo in South Beach, it was now time to strategize and come up with the best plan to get Wall back to his best, if not better. For Wall, taking a page out of the LeBron James/Russell Wilson playbook was necessary — cultivating the perfect offseason environment with the right blend of people and programs necessary to keep his body in peak physical condition. There would be monthly benchmarks to reach, seeking a steady increase in all facets of gameplay.
“My primary goal was just to stay healthy but get back as strong as possible,” Wall said. I knew that all the hard work that I put in would pay off when I had the opportunity to step back on the court. I took my time and didn’t rush back.
Wall’s plan to perfection was a six-month, carefully-mapped out course involving a number of individuals and locations:
• There was McClean, the Wizards assistant coach who worked side-by-side with Wall on a daily basis, overseeing all operations.
• There was Dr. Zach Colls, his physical therapist, who joined Wall in Miami and was there to support him during the mental journey that rehab takes you on.
• Andy Luaces, the owner and founder of Core Fitness Miami, a strength and conditioning gym.
• And Stanley Remy, the owner of The Miami Perimeter, a sports performance facility and host of Remy Runs.
“I’ve known John since he first got out of college,” Remy said. “One of my main clients, Brandon Knight — obviously he went to Kentucky — they were good friends.
“When I first connected with him in the offseason, he had a teammate, Jeff Green, who was in Washington with him at one point. They connected and we all worked out together for about a week or two. We became super cool after that. This summer we reconnected. He had his Washington Wizards coach Alex (McClean), who was down also working with him all summer. Obviously not knowing that he was going to get traded from the Wizards, they wanted to keep eyes on him, make sure he was doing what he was supposed to do because this was a big year for him.”
A typical day in Miami would see Wall wake up around 6 or 7 in the morning. Depending on what Wall wanted to do first, his cardio consisted of either running on the Alter-G machine, an anti-gravity treadmill designed for rehab, or he would opt for a bike ride. The latter was more of the competitive side of him, stemming from a bet he and McClean made in February on who would lose more weight. Because the pandemic had closed most things in the nation’s capital, the two had purchased mountain bikes in D.C. and rode them around the city, tracking their distance.
One time, Wall and McClean actually ended up racing for 30 miles before realizing they still had to go back. “That’s 60 miles, fuck,” Wall said.
Down in South Beach, although restrictions were a bit looser, the bike rides had become a big part of their routine so they purchased two more.
After cardio, Wall would head to CoreFit to work with Luaces. Over the years, CoreFit has become one of Miami’s go-to spots for pros across all sports during their various offseasons. Conditioning-wise, Wall was a long way off from his desired shape but he wanted to focus on his agility, lower leg strength and explosiveness. Luaces coordinated those sessions and McClean would join in on the daily workouts to keep Wall motivated. Wall also started lifting weights and at his peak, he was deadlifting 525 pounds.
“Everything,” Wall said of the areas of his body he wanted to work on. “The most important thing for me was my legs. I had just torn my Achilles so I had to get my calf muscle back stronger and do other things that I probably never worked on before in my career. My main focus was getting my legs back stronger and I think it’s paid off.”
Right after, Wall would grab a shake and head to Remy’s gym for on-court drills and to participate in Remy’s infamous NBA pickup runs. In the evening, Wall would wind down with Peloton classes and massages. A full day’s work, from eight in the morning until eight at night, for weeks.
For someone like Wall, a high-level NBA player with a superior IQ, keeping him engaged during on-court drills was of the utmost importance. McClean had to get creative and came up with games to keep Wall’s mind and reflexes sharp.
For example, in one drill, Wall would have to keep his hands on his waist the entire time. He would lose points if his hands came up, even slightly. Players like Rodney Purvis, Alonzo Gee and Angel Rodriguez were brought in to assist, giving Wall more bodies to work with and preventing him from feeling isolated working out alone.
In a lot of these exercises, Wall wanted to work on his shooting, a part of his game that has been maligned for his entire 11-year career.
“Alex trained him every day and also core fitness, but I watched every day,” Remy said. “You can tell he was working on his ability to shoot the ball. Just getting his explosiveness back, which he did, and he’s gotten better at shooting the basketball. Just being in the best shape possible. Those two things, it looks like they were trying to highlight for sure. “
Of course, the main attraction of the day were those Remy Runs. NBA players playing in some organized form of offseason basketball has become a must-watch staple since the 2011 lockout, and the beauty of it is the ability of high-level games to sprout all over the country.
To mentally prepare himself for these games, Wall would watch his old film. Specifically, he watched footage from two playoff series: the 2017 first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks and the 2017 conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics. In those two series, Wall played at a high level, averaging 29.5 points, 10.3 assists and 1.7 steals against the Hawks and 25.1 points, 10.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks against the Celtics.
“Just working on it man,” Wall said. “Working on it and watching basketball. I watch all types of basketball no matter what it is — women’s, men’s, kids — I just love to watch the game.”
It would be unusual for an NBA player to watch film before an offseason pickup game, but because of his competitive drive Wall couldn’t help himself. He wants to win at all times and is a basketball junkie at heart.
“He always participated in my runs,” Remy said. “He was someone who actually made me take those runs seriously because he’s someone that likes to play in the summertime. I think it’s important to play and train, I think they’re equivalent. You don’t want to just lock someone in a gym just do a bunch of drills every single day. Eventually, mentally, they need to see bodies go against people and they need to compete. That’s a big part of their development.”
“We use these runs as a point of development. Being able to utilize a lot of stuff that we’ve been working on, trying to get better at during the summertime. And also the level of competition — we want guys to compete against other NBA guys because it gives you a sense of realness. You get to see yourself against guys that you play against throughout the year. Obviously, guys aren’t going super 100 percent but then James Harden comes in for a week or two, it intensifies everything — everyone’s playing at a high level. They see another superstar in the building and others keep coming. It just creates mentally that competitiveness that you need during the summer. Makes it more serious instead of guys just going through the motions, brings them in and they compete at a high level. It intensifies what they need to be working on. It’s a measuring stick.
During these games, Wall showed out. Names like Andre Drummond, Iman Shumpert, Harden made appearances at the gym, but Wall met every challenge and steadily raised his game.
With every night, the bounce and lift in his legs slowly returned. One of the memorable moments from those runs was the night Wall recreated his signature slam, the exact same dunk he and McClean had watched in their daily highlights sessions. As the entire gym oohed and aahed, Wall looked at McClean and started laughing.
“He was coming down in transition on the left side and he slowed down and went from fast to slow, and back to fast, and just dunked it so hard,” Remy said, recalling the dunk. “I was like, ‘Okay, he’s back’ and the emotion and the whole gym felt it. Everything, he does it with emotion, but he has so much different motivation, different people writing him off. You could tell every day there’s a chip on his shoulder. Practice, workouts, games, it doesn’t matter what it is.
“We had over 50 NBA players coming to these runs in the summer. Wall was our MVP, absolutely,” Remy added. “This is my second year of giving that award. The first thing I look for in giving this award is consistency and attendance. Every week we’re playing two to three times a week and he’s there. First one there, last to leave. I just watched him continue to get better every single week. Once I saw the athleticism and quickness back, I knew it was over. Just working to make shots, becoming a better shooter. I watched him night in and night out work on it after the runs, staying another hour and a half perfecting it. I saw a level of focus that I haven’t seen and it was tremendous. I knew he would have a great year just because of how locked in he was. This was a different type of locked in.”
For Wall’s 30th birthday in September, he spent the week doing charity work. Wall traveled back to the D.C. area and New York with his foundation, helping children out with over 400 back-to-school packages, his seventh annual program.
Because the gym at the Player’s Association was closed, Wall played at Basketball City in Chelsea Piers. That week, Wall played at any and every gym he could find in the area, desperate to get some sort of work done.
After New York, Wall went down to his hometown in Raleigh, N.C., to visit his old high school, Word of God Christian Academy. Wall was accompanied by Carter Whitt, a collegiate player at Wake Forest who’s also from Raleigh.
In October, with the Lakers crowned as champions and the rest of the NBA world in offseason mode, Wall’s rehab circuit took him to Los Angeles — another popular spot for pickup games.
Wall trained every day at the late Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy, an unofficial training camp for him before linking back up with his Wizards teammates. The Brooklyn Nets were also in Los Angeles at the time and worked out at the same gym.
Wall wanted to scrimmage against the Nets conglomerate, which featured Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris Levert and DeAndre Jordan. He put his team together, playing with Isaac Bonga, Shelvin Mack and free agents Isaiah Thomas and De’Andre Bembry.
Games took place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The runs were set in playoff-like fashion, a best-of-seven series. It was during these games where those around the gym saw Wall look like the five-time All-Star that he is. In the first series, Wall’s team swept the Nets. It was a pleasurable experience for Durant and Irving seeing a good friend get back to his best.
“For sure,” Wall said. “It’s been a lot of moments. Even before the bubble and the pandemic, I felt like I was back. I think just having an opportunity to play against guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out in L.A. and seeing me play at a high level, knowing how special those two are. They were letting me know I still have a lot of time left in the league and the ability to do what I do.”
Wall’s eyes were watching De’Aaron Fox the entire possession and he had a point to prove.
It was Jan. 2, just the second game of Wall’s new career with the Rockets since a December trade, but he didn’t need any longer to show the Sacramento Kings and the world that he was back.
Wall drove on Kings guard Buddy Hield and put him in the post, backing him down before a quick turn and one-handed hook shot. Swish. Coming down the floor, Wall motioned to the ground, indicating that Hield was too small to guard him. The old, fiery Wall was coming back.
On the next defensive possession, Fox’s pump fake had sent Danuel House flying out of the picture and he was met with his old friend Wall defending him on the left wing. Fox attempted a crossover but Wall’s quick hands beat him to the spot, knocking the ball away from Fox momentarily. Both players immediately dove for the ball on the ground, but Wall’s quickness saw him win the battle, knocking the ball off of Fox and out of bounds.
As the sideline official signaled Rockets ball, Wall jumped up, flexed his arms and screamed to the heavens. It was a moment that would have truly resonated with Houston fans had there been the normal 20,000 instead of a few thousand scattered around Toyota Center, but Wall didn’t care.
Never mind the fact that Wall finished the game with an impressive line of 28 points, six assists, four rebounds, two blocks and three steals. It was a message to the doubters and naysayers. Wall never doubted his ability to return to a high level of play for a second.
“No. Hell no,” Wall said when asked if he’s surprised at his start to the season, which has seen him average 17.1 points, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds per game along with a career best 82.1 percent from the free throw line. “No I’m not surprised. I know how much work I’ve put in and I’ll say the NBA is a lot easier than what it was before. It’s a lot of switching one through four, one through five. And it’s a lot of spacing, all shooters out there and guys that can make one-on-one plays. That’s what I pride myself on being able to make, one-on-one plays, create shots for myself and for my teammates. I knew it would be a lot easier at least compared to when I came in the league where the paint used to be packed and you might have one shooter out there.”
It was the culmination of a journey that has been filled with its triumphs and tragedies. The birth of his sons and the loss of his mother are two things he constantly refers to because those are situations that drive and push him.
“Just my two sons, the passing of my mother, that was more motivation for me,” Wall said. “All the doubters saying I couldn’t be back to my old self and that I was done. That’s all I really need. I don’t need too much, man. I motivate myself because I love to play this game at a high level. Doesn’t matter if we get paid for this or not, I’m just happy to be able to play the game I love. You see me even without fans in the crowd, I play with a lot of passion.”
Wall was put in an awkward situation as soon as he arrived in Houston, forced to become a part of the Harden saga that consumed the franchise for months. However, he wasn’t going to let that serve as a distraction from what he was sent to Houston to do — win basketball games.
“Just sticking to it,” Wall said. “Even though we knew the bubble was going on and we didn’t know when this (next) season would start. I was like, ‘I hope it’s not gonna be another year until I get to play in front of fans or even see me on TV!’ I’m glad we came to an agreement where I have the opportunity to play and fans get to see me and see all the hard work I’ve put into this. A lot of people said it’s only pickup I’m playing against and can’t do it in the NBA anymore, and I’m still finding myself. It’s good to see real pros every time you step on the floor.”
Wall isn’t the only new face in town, as Stephen Silas was hired in late October to be the next Rockets head coach. It’s a relationship that has become incredibly strong from Day 1. The bond between a head coach and point guard is important, but Silas speaks to Wall more than anyone on the team. Whether it’s bouncing ideas off of one another, working through the offense, or taking the lead on defense, those two are in constant communication.
Wall has also become the leader of this team as it heads into a new era. During film sessions, Wall speaks up and points out things that the team is doing on the floor, both positive and what teammates need to improve on. In the games Wall wasn’t playing, he could still be seen on the bench walking around the sidelines having talks with players and coaches.
“I’m a big leader,” Wall said. “I’m very vocal. I like to talk. When I first came in the league, I used to lead by example but now I have years in and I like to speak up on certain things.”

Hi everyone! I am working non-stop provide the best research and analysis regarding DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG). I originally posted my overall investment thesis on the company a few weeks back and now I am breaking down and analyzing the latest news and developments regarding DKNG! And no, it is not the ticker symbol for Donkey Kong.
DraftKings in my opinion, is the best pure play investment if you want some exposure to the sports betting, iGaming, and daily fantasy sports space. They're founder led (3 founders to be exact) and they're invested into the company themselves right alongside all of us shareholders or potential shareholders.
Within the last week, there has been some exciting developments regarding DraftKings. I will share them below:
DK Gift Cards Are Live! You can buy a DK gift card as a stocking stuffer for Christmas if you want.
I’m really excited to hear this news. It’s only going to increase the brand awareness of DK and that’s what we want. According to the press release on DK’s investor relations website, they’ve partnered with InComm Payments to facilitate the launching of the gift cards. InComm payments is a global leading payments technology company that has a network of retailers that DK will be able to leverage through this partnership. Convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Speedway and Dollar General are just some of the many convenience stores in Incomm Payments’ network that DK will be able to leverage. For now, the gift cards will be offered in $50 and $25 denominations.
The great thing about this to me is that they’ve beat their competitors to this. That shows managements initiative and ability to get things done which I complimented when I first picked this company. As of right now, you’re not going to be seeing any “FanDuel” (boo FanDuel *thumbs down emoji*) gift cards in the stores. Tim Richardson, the Senior Vice President at InComm Payments was quoted as saying “DraftKings will benefit from having its brand present in tens of thousands of Incomm Payments’ retail partner locations across the US”. Overall, good news for DK.
New York State – Getting desperate? Do they need some online sports gambling revenue?
I want to make this clear before I write about this topic – sports betting is already legal in New York state. The problem is, it’s only legal in brick and mortar (retail) locations. Just under a dozen upstate casinos can operate brick and mortar sports books at the moment. In typical DK fashion, they’re already active in a casino in New York State. DK offers in person brick and mortar sports betting through the Del Lago Resort Casino in Waterloo, NY. My news update I’m sharing is that it appears New York state might be considering expanding to online sports betting too due to a budget shortfall they’re experiencing (they need more tax revenue).
This news came out on Wednesday, 12/16/20 during the day time. Governor Cuomo had a press conference during the day. The press conference was primarily focused on giving an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in New York state. During the presser, the topic of New York state’s budget shortfalls came up. As a possible financial solution, Cuomo said “Are there other ways to get revenue? How about marijuana? How about sports betting?” He’s referring to the possible tax revenue that could be collected if sports betting offerings were expanded beyond just the brick and mortar offerings. What if every New Yorker could place a sports wager from the comfort of their own home on their cell phone?
The battle for legalizing online sports gambling in New York has been going on for years. Governor Cuomo has always been opposed to it. One of the reasons Gov. Cuomo has cited in the past is that he thinks a constitutional amendment would need to be made to New York state law to allow for mobile sports betting in the state. However, one state representative from New York that has been pushing hard for online sports gambling begs to differ. In response to Cuomo’s comments in the presser earlier that day, State Senator Joseph Addabbo said that there would be no constitutional problem with mobile sports betting because the servers could be placed on site of grandfathered in physical casinos. Addabo said that New York state’s need for revenue is “real and immediate”
This is a situation to keep a close eye on. The impacts of legalizing mobile sports betting in NY would be substantial for DK as it would open the population of 20 million people in NY state the opportunity to place wagers on the DK Sportsbook app through the comfort of their home. I imagine it wouldn’t be too difficult for DK to mobilize once they get the green light for mobile betting as they already have the standing relationship with Del Lago Resort Casino for in person betting.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) granted DK a provisional license to conduct online gaming and sports betting in the state of Michigan
For this update I also want to be clear – retail (brick and mortar) and mobile sports betting are already legal in the state of Michigan. It’s just that there’s a lot of yellow tape for Sportsbooks like DK to navigate within a state even after sports betting has become legalized. This provisional license provided by the MGCB was provided to DK and 14 other sportsbooks (including rival FanDuel) on Thursday, December 10th last week.
Now there are just a few more regulatory requirements that DK has to meet in the state of Michigan before they can go live. According to http://www.michigan.gov, “Before launch happens, the platform providers must complete additional regulatory requirements including independent testing of platforms and games and MGCB approval of their internal controls, which ensure gaming integrity. The firms also must secure occupational licenses for certain employees.” You can read the full article on Michigan’s government website here.
Knowing that DK has a knack for being quick to mobilize once they’re given opportunities in respective states, I fully expect them to pass these last few tests with flying colors. The DK Sportsbook app has already been available in the state of Michigan for “free to enter” games. Once they pass the last few requirements, actual wagers will be allowed to be placed. And money will be allowed to be made!
Another promising sign coming out of the state of Michigan, is that on November 30th, 2020, DK became an official sports betting partner of the Detroit Pistons, the NBA basketball team in Michigan. DK Chief Business Officer, Ezra Kucharz, was on the record after the deal closed saying “As our first professional team activation in the state of Michigan, we are thrilled to join forces with the Detroit Pistons ahead of our pending market introduction”. In my opinion, I anticipate we’ll be seeing DK online sports betting in Michigan some time in early 2021.
This concludes my update and analysis on DraftKings.
TL:DR

Draftkings now offers gift cards and you can buy them in convenience stores (first sports betting company to do so)
DraftKings received a provisional license to conduct sports gambling in Michigan
Governor Cuomo of NY said he would consider legalizing "mobile sports betting" to raise additional tax revenue
If you would like to read my original deep dive and analysis on DKNG, you can check it out here:
- DraftKings Deep Dive and Analysis - Investment Thesis

NBA Breakdown from CheatSheetPros!
Article Link for Screen Shots: https://www.cheatsheetpros.com/post/10-nba-plays-for-wednesday-from-cheatsheetpros
QUICK NEWS AND NOTES:
NBA is changing throughout the day so if you are new to NBA DFS then you need to be ready to make pivotal moves 30 minutes prior to lock. Just another reminder if you are new that was post this NBA CheatSheet every Thursday in our “Free” Facebook group for people to try out. (Link is at the bottom of article.) I post it in the morning and then update and post it again 60-90 minutes prior to lock.
VALUE PLAYS:
It is difficult to project a low priced guy this early in the day. Most of the best value plays pop up inside that last hour prior to lock. I would suggest no matter what tools you are using that when finding a value play look at their FPPM (Fantasy Point Per Minute) production over the season and last 5 games. I see so many “value plays” that are chalky but the guy has a FPPM of 0.65 or 0.72 and they just don’t do anything. I prefer guys with a FPPM over 1.00 but at least over 0.90 at a minimum. Also, a GUARD/CENTER value play usually performs better than a random forward because they are more involved. That’s just my two cents.
PLAYERS THAT WE LIKE ON THE SLATE TONIGHT!
LUKA DONCIC – Luka has the highest ceiling of any player and he is priced under $11k on DK. In his last 6 games played he has hit 86.3 and 87.5 DK points so the main point is that he has done it TWICE and it was not a single random game. The red flag for me is that Utah plays at a very slow pace so use him but don’t lock him in tonight.
STEPHEN CURRY – He is 9300 and has an easy 6x match tonight. He just played MIN and went 34 minutes, took 21 shots and put up 53.5 DKPs. He is a great CASH GAME play tonight as he has around a 5x floor and 6x upside. For that reason I don’t like using him in GPPs as we need to shoot for 6x-7x or higher with the higher cash points this year.
MALCOLM BROGDON – He is 8600 but coming off a 60.3 DK point game tonight and might be without Sabonis. If Sabonis is out his usage rate is around 27%.
MIKE CONLEY – As I am writing this article I noticed Donovan Mitchell was just ruled out. This gives Conley a usage bump from 23% up to 27.2% and priced at only 6100 tonight I have a lot of interest in him. This also puts Jordan Clarkson is play at 5900 who is playing at 1.20 FPPM and should see a boost from his 23 minutes per game.
** NEWS TO MONITOR!** KENDRICK NUNN – Jimmy Butler still OUT, Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic both Q for tonight so Nunn could see another huge minutes boost if one or both of them are ruled out. Make sure to check the updated NBA sheet tonight for the changes because this could be a big one! Nunn is priced at 5700 on DK and playing around a fantasy point per min. This means if he is projected for 35 minutes that is around 35 DKPs putting him at around 6x value.
GORDON HAYWARD – He is priced at 7500 and that still feels a little cheap. He is coming off a 43 DKP game but prior to that he hit 57.3 and 50.5 DKPs. If you have followed me in the chat or read any of my stuff you know mid 7K player with 50 DKP upside is my jam! IND may also be without Sabonis tonight which would help Haywards upside! Hay~Hay for the win! No, I’m not talking about the rock eating chicken from Moana! Sorry that is my comical humor for the day.
DEMAR DEROZAN – He was priced up to almost 9000 earlier this season and he is down to only 7100. Yes this guy is a roller coaster but he has upside at this price tag. In his last 5 games he has 2 games in the mid 20’s (blah!) but he has 3 games over 43 DKPs and that is over 6x value pushing 7x. Game total is a decent 223 with a tight +4 point spread tonight. If he can play 30+ minute she will crush value, the game where he was in the mid 20’s for DKPs he played 27 and 25 minutes and they won one by 20 and lost one by 22. So if the game stays close as Vegas thinks it will he is a good value play tonight!
PHO PLAYERS: I wanted to focus on Mikal Bridges since we are lumping the forwards together but noticed a trend. Mikal has upside with a 51 DKP game on January 22nd where he shot 8 for 15 and grabbed 10 boards and he is priced at only 5300, that is 10x upside! He has several games that are 5x and just shy but the 9x and 10x ceiling is something we need to take down a GPP. Look at our NBA cheatsheet you have DeAndre Ayton – Mikal Bridges – Chis Paul and they are rotating monster games! If you enter a 3 max tourney I would do a lineup with EACH of them. Chris Paul is coming of a 56.8 DKP game, prior was Mikal 51 & Ayton 48.3 and prior to that is was Ayton at 62.3. I WOULD NOT play all 3 together but don’t mind Mikal & Ayton as these seem to pop at the same time.
CLINT CAPELA – This guy has been on FIRE for us as he has smashed every time we wrote him up in an article! He is coming off a short 45 DKP game but prior to that he hit 63.3 and 76 DKPs. Tonight, he gets a BKN team that can’t guard the rim. BKN allowed BAM to put up a 26-10-5 line where they only scored 98 points in the game, the prior game BAM put up a 41-5-9 line and in the game prior against CLE Jarrett Allen and Drummond combined for 38 points and 22 boards. Capela who has been on fire is priced up to 9100 but has easy 50-60 DKP upside against this team.
MYLES TURNER – If Sabonis is OUT (currently Q) I love some Myles Turner at 7500. He has put up 42, 49 and 41.3 DKPs over his last 3 games and he has a massive usage bump with Sabonis off the floor that jumps from 18% to 23.2%. Another mid 7K guy with pushing 50 DKP upside. If Sabonis is in I don’t mind him but don’t love him.
DVP BREAKDOWN, TIERS SCREEN SHOT & TIERS STRATEGY USED LAST NIGHT ARE INCLUDED IN THE ARTICLE LINK ABOVE. Since Reddit does not allow screen shots I am unable to add here but feel free to click the link if you would like to see those items as I enjoy sharing them!
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Thanks for reading & good luck!
Haze

The deal
Lakers get: Dennis Schroder
Thunder get: Danny Green, 2020 first-round draft pick (No. 28)
Note: This expected trade can be formally agreed to in principle on Monday and finalized after the Lakers make their first-round pick (No. 28) on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Lakers: C

This deal feels unusually difficult to grade from the Lakers' perspective because of what we don't know about their prospects when free agency opens on Friday.
The reigning champs could have as many as seven rotation players hit unrestricted free agency, depending on the status of player options for Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo. Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris will be unrestricted free agents as well.

The uncertainty is particularly large in the backcourt, which is presumably why the Lakers targeted adding a guard. We saw during the 2020 playoffs when Rondo stepped into a larger role -- averaging 24.7 minutes per game, up from 20.5 during the regular season, and even more MPG (26.0) during the NBA Finals -- how useful it was for LeBron James to have a second playmaker to help carry the load. Schroder fits that bill.
If Schroder is indeed replacing Rondo, it's amusing because the veteran Rondo was a popular comparison for the German prospect when Schroder entered the NBA draft in 2013. They've evolved in different ways since then, with Schroder proving far more of a score-first point guard and a far better scorer in the NBA.
Rondo has never come close to touching the 18.9 points per game Schroder averaged last season (Rondo's career high is 13.7), while Schroder's decision-making and playmaking haven't proved as strong as advertised. He has topped out at 9.7 assists per 100 team plays in his career, a mark Rondo has beat 12 seasons running. Schroder is also a weaker defender than the engaged Rondo we saw at times during the postseason.
Just how well Schroder fits will depend in large part on whether last season's improvement as a shooter was a fluke. Having never previously shot better than league average from 3-point range (his career high was 35% in 2014-15), Schroder knocked down 38.5% of his attempts, pushing him above league average in true shooting percentage (.575) for the first time as well.
Schroder is a quality foul shooter (83% career), and his improvement is also explained in part by attempting more catch-and-shoot 3s than he had before. Per Second Spectrum tracking, Schroder is a career 37% shooter on catch-and-shoot attempts, as compared to 28% on pull-ups. Last season, a career-high 75% of his attempts were off the catch because he was playing more off the ball alongside Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
As compared to signing Rondo to a multiyear contract at age 34, Schroder is surely a better investment. Getting younger by dealing the 33-year-old Green for 27-year-old Schroder is also a positive for the league's oldest team last season, weighted by minutes played.
Still, this deal carries two big risks:
First, the Lakers have lost a wing option by dealing Green, their marquee addition in free agency last summer. Yes, I hear you, Lakers fans: Green was a disappointment in L.A.
By nature, 3-and-D wings tend to see their value fluctuate in the eyes of observers based on how often those 3s tend to go in. (Caldwell-Pope's Lakers career is pretty much a case study in that effect.) And last season, they didn't go in frequently enough for Green, who shot 37% during the regular season and slumped all the way to 34% during the playoffs. As a result, Green dropped behind Caldwell-Pope in the Lakers' wing pecking order and might have been behind Bradley had the latter not opted out of participating in the NBA bubble.

As we project forward to next season, however, Green's track record (he's a career 40% 3-point shooter and has hit 39% in the playoffs despite his recent high-profile struggles) makes him a far better bet as a shooter than Schroder. My SCHOENE projection system forecasts 39% 3-point shooting for Green in 2020-21 and 36% for Schroder.

Losing the 6-foot-6 Green also leaves the Lakers smaller on the wing. Caldwell-Pope is 6-foot-5 and Bradley (who may or may not return) is 6-foot-3 and better suited to defend the point guards with whom Schroder will now perhaps be matching up. So the second important free-agency variable is what wing with size the Lakers might be able to attract with their midlevel exception to replace Green.
The second risk the Lakers are taking is one of alternative cost, or opportunity cost. If they're committed to keeping Kyle Kuzma, this year's first-round pick was the Lakers' best trade chip, and Green their best expiring contract for matching salary. They now have that much less flexibility looking ahead to the trade deadline.
In value terms, the Lakers surely sold low on Green and appear to have bought high on Schroder. We'll find out in the next week or two whether the results of free agency justify that decision.

Oklahoma City Thunder: A

📷
Back when the Thunder acquired Schroder from the Atlanta Hawks for Carmelo Anthony in the summer of 2018, giving up a conditional first-round pick because Schroder's contract was so much less onerous, the idea was Oklahoma City could eventually deal him to help replace the pick. Lo and behold, that's exactly what has happened.
In fact, the Thunder could end up way ahead in terms of draft picks if they're in the lottery in 2021-22. In that case, the pick Oklahoma City sends to Atlanta becomes second-rounders in 2024 and 2025.
Two seasons with the Thunder rehabilitated Schroder's value, which was limited after spending the previous two years as a starter on lottery teams. Oklahoma City moved Schroder to a bench role, a better fit for his score-first mentality, and cashed in at the peak of Schroder's value after he finished second to Montrezl Harrell in Sixth Man Award voting.
Now, the question is whether the Thunder can do the same thing with Green. With the franchise heading toward some version of a rebuild, it's certainly possible Green never makes it to Oklahoma City. If he is part of the 2020-21 Thunder, they can hope Green shoots well for the first few months of the season, which might make him valuable to a contender before the trade deadline. If not, dealing one expiring contract for another hasn't really cost the Thunder anything down the road.

The NBA tradition continues as we have a great five game slate on Christmas Day, thankfully without the Knicks for once! It is LOADED with star power as the NBA are no fools when they create the schedule. Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic…the list goes on and on. We’re going to go through each position and figure out who we’re locking into our cash games in the NBA Cash Game Breakdown 12/25!

What We Look For In Cash Formats

High Floor – We need players we can trust to get us to a certain value almost no matter what. If they have a poor shooting night, they can still do enough other things to score 4-5x.
Chalkiness – We need players who are going to be highly rostered. If a player is 70% or higher (Luka on Wednesday night) and they go off without you, that’s likely the end of your night.
Positional Strength – Especially on FanDuel, sometimes a position is going to be very thin and needs prioritized.
Ghost’s Model – This model needs to be the Bible as far as projections. My article will mostly be written the night before. I’m telling you this up front – Trust. The. Model. We can’t always update the articles and it won’t lead us astray. If it’s on a player that isn’t mentioned in mine, trust it.
Late News – Another very important aspect to stress – do not play a slate if you can’t update close to tip. The NBA changes in an instant. One piece of news can change everything.

Point Guard

Luka Doncic ($10,700 DK/$11,300 FD) – Luka is the perfect fit for the floor that I talked about. He shot poorly from the floor to start in the first game of the season. At one point, he was 2-9 and finished just 11-26. Still, he scored right about 50 DK points and still rocked a 40.7% usage rate. He might be a hair tougher to fit since we’re lacking a ton of value, but there’s no doubt of the extremely high floor Luka has without Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup.
Kyrie Irving ($8,900 DK/$8,900 FD) – Whew, did Kyrie look phenomenal in game one. It’s not just the hot shooting, he looked like he was engaged and at full strength. We get the narrative of heading back to Boston and there’s no fans to heckle him, which honestly helps in my eyes. Irving has a 24.7% usage rate and a 1.52 FPPM in the first game, which will more than pay the bills in this spot. I lean Kyrie>Luka just because of the price difference. Kyrie getting you 45-50 will be more valuable than 65-70 from Luka with the $2,000 spread out across the lineup.
Jrue Holiday ($7,500 DK/$7,000 FD) – The Milwaukee Bucks (-10)
Wager $10 on MIL📷Win by 10:$19.36 have sacrificed depth for star power and the first game might show a pattern. All of Holiday, Giannis and Khris Middleton played at least 36 minutes and Holiday played 38. Minutes equals production when we’re talking players of Holiday’s caliber. The blowout concern is real, but if the Bucks are up big Holiday will help them get there. He had a 22.8% usage rate in the first game and that’s plenty with so many minutes.
Jeff Teague ($4,200 DK/$5,800 FD) – The biggest lock on the slate for DK is none other than Teauge since he has an actual role. In playing 25 minutes off the bench, Teague went nuts for 19 points and kicked in three boards and four dimes. For those of you new to NBA, being the leader off the bench is a lot of times better than being the fifth starter. Teague had a 27.1% usage rate, second to only Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in game one. He gets a pace up spot and should shine once again. If he doesn’t he’s likely to be the highest-owned player in cash so it won’t kill you.
Honorable Mention – Steph Curry – He’s much easier to fit on FD and I do worry he doesn’t see enough minutes to pay off the DK price. However, the Bucks have yielded three-point attempts at the highest rate in the league going back to last year. They gave up 40 in the first game. If they let Steph shoot, we know what will eventually happen.

Shooting Guard

Paul George ($8,700 DK/$7,600 FD) – I greatly prefer PG13 on FD, where I have to have two shooting guards. George went bonkers for 33 points on Wednesday with a 28% usage rate. It’s not the best game to target overall, but he wouldn’t kill you on FD even if his real points go back to around 24.
Khris Middleton ($7,400 DK/$7,400 FD) – This is pretty much a copy and paste from Holiday. Middleton will be tasked with big minutes if the game stays close and he should be asked to elevate his game. If the Bucks continue to log big minutes, even players not named Giannis have a higher floor than in year’s past. His 1.56 FPPM was almost identical to Greek for at least one night, though he was red-hot from the floor.
Eric Bledsoe ($5,600 DK/$5,600 FD) – This is a play that I like better on DK since he’s the bigger bargain. Bledsoe can be a little frustrating at some points, but he looked right at home with the Pelicans in his debut. He played 34 minutes, scored 18 points and tacked on six assists. His FPPM wasn’t crazy high at 0.97 but the 21.7% usage rate would be fine in big minutes. He’s sharing the floor with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, and should be able to get some easier dimes on a nightly basis.
Dennis Schroder ($6,300 DK/$5,000) – Schroder had a ceiling game which has him a hair expensive on DK but an absolute lock on FD. His price didn’t move on that site, for whatever reason. Both LeBron and Anthony Davis scuffled Wednesday, and Schroeder picked up the slack and flirted with a triple-double. That’s not going to happen often but he’s the starting point guard with Bron and AD. He’s going to fall into production and be a scoring threat with or without them on the floor.
Donte DiVincenzo ($4,700 DK/$4,500 FD) – He played 28 minutes and is cheap, and should be carrying a little more of the load with the depth pillaged away for Milwaukee. The good news is if the game gets out of hand, it think he stays on the court longer than the big three. I’m not totally in love with him for cash, but if he’s the last man in I would get behind it if you love everything else.
*Note\* Tyler Herro is only PG/SG on DK, and we’ll get to him in the SF portion since that’s how he’s listed on FD.

Small Forward

LeBron James ($10,000 DK/$11,000 FD) – It’s LeBron coming off an average game on Christmas Day against a team that is not great defensively. You don’t think he hears Luka is an MVP favorite in the preseason? LeBron will be looking to prove a point. Likely a little easier to fit on FD and a bit more needed with two SF to fill.
Jaylen Brown ($7,000 DK/$7,500 FD) – I’ll never tell you that you’re wrong if you go with Kawhi Leonard at this spot. However, Brown is $2,000 cheaper, in a pace up spot and is the sidekick to Tatum in Boston with Gordon Hayward in Charolette. Brown poured in 33 points in game one and had a 29.3% usage rate. Giddy up.
Brandon Ingram ($8,300 DK/$7,300 FD) – He’s easier to fit on FD but you can’t go wrong in either. Sure, you probably don’t get the near triple-double again but Ingram continues to improve by leaps and bounds. I think he’s still going to be the usage rate leader at the end of the year and the first game was 28.1%. If Jimmy Butler happens to sit, this matchup gets even juicier.
Caris LeVert – ($7,200 DK/$5,800 FD) – LeVert is a huge pricing difference and that means I probably can’t get there on DK. On FD however, he’s near a lock to my eyes. He ran off the bench all by himself with Kyrie or KD, which is a huge piece of information. I think they leave him alone on the second unit. For one, it helps the Nets as a team. They can rest both Kyrie and KD at the same time without sacrificing offensive capability. It also still elevates LeVert’s trade value if the Nets goes for a third star (not to diss LeVert). Either way, the 34.9% usage rate for LeVert is massively underpriced on FD.
Joe Harris ($5,300 DK/$4,300 FD) – This is about as low as I can go at the position and Harris did a little bit of everything. He chipped in 10 points, had seven rebounds and two assists. Ghost hit home on the point that with Kyrie and KD garnering all the defensive attention, Harris flies under the radar and is a sharpshooter. I don’t think you run both on Harris and LeVert, but you can use either or.
Tyler Herro ($5,600/$5,000 FD) – Herro is only a cash play if Butler is out. Fortunately, that’s the first game of the day and we’ll know what we need before the slate even gets going.

Power Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,900 DK/$11,600 FD) – I’m more likely to get my Bucks exposure from other pieces, but there’s not really a safer bet to hit 50 fantasy points on any given slate than Greek.
Jayson Tatum ($9,300 DK/$9,800 FD) – He’s my favorite stud on the slate. The 40.4% usage rate is tantalizing to say the least, as is a 1.52 FPPM. That’s Luka-level usage and even if it drops a little bit, Tatum is underpriced. He’s in a run and gun spot and probably the most attractive game on the entire slate.
Kevin Durant ($9,800 DK/$8,500 FD) – Still massively underpriced on FD, Durant looked like he had never dealt with an injury in his life on Tuesday. He flirted with a 30% usage rate and scored a 1.64 FPPM. He’s just a smash play on FD and I’m not going to complain if you play him on DK.
Anthony Davis ($10,300 DK/$10,600 FD) – He deserves to be motioned, and you can play him for sure. However, just look at the PF position. We’re in love with KD and Tatum is my favorite. I can only play two, so AD won’t make the cut for me. I don’t think he plays that poorly again and who on the Dallas side could actually stop him?
Paul Millsap ($4,900 DK/$4,900 FD) – This is really DK-only but since we need value and don’t have a lot, we’ll take the minutes where we can. Even without the OT factored in, Millsap played over 30 minutes. When a player is under $5,000 we need to at least consider him.

Center

Nikola Jokic ($10,100 DK/$9,700 FD) – Is there a better center than the Joker in the league? I don’t really think so when he’s engaged and he had a triple-double in the first game of the season. Denver rolls as Joker rolls, and he’s such an incredibly unique talent. The matchup is tougher than Wednesday with Serge Ibaka but it’s not enough to worry about. The 29.1% usage rate is what we chase and he’s a triple-double threat every time on the court.
Montrezl Harrell ($6,000 DK/$51,00 FD) – I don’t think he has the same type of game as he did the first night, but he’s coming in chalky. That’s fine for cash, even if we don’t think he replicates the results. I’m with Ghost that if AD is rolling, Trez likely won’t be doing a ton. I will say if the Lakers go 10 deep into the rotation, maybe that helps Trez a bit. He’s chalky and in cash that can be all that matters.
Ivaca Zubac ($5,300 DK/$4,700 FD) – Zubac played 26 minutes and scored 11/6/1. Nobody has ever accused Joker of being a lockdown defender and they really don’t have a true backup center in the traditional sense. Win Daily Poster Boy Mason Plumlee is in Detroit now. Zubac on the second unit approaching 30 minutes is more than enough to pay off.

Core Four (ALWAYS subject to change in Discord)

Jayson Tatum/Jeff Teague/Montrezl Harrell/Kyrie Irving
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May 10, 1973 - 1973 NBA Finals, Game 5 - "3 seconds to play, they give the ball to Chamberlain who drops it in...1 second to play. One. The Knicks are hugging each other and having some fun...but they inbound it, the clock goes...the game is over and New York has won the ball game!"
Well done, Knicks! You won your second championship in franchise history against the Laker Empire, and have cemented yourselves among the greatest teams in NBA history. Sure, your team is aging but the future is looking brighter than ever. Let's look into your future.
1974 - Unfortunately the title defense is unsuccessful. You get utterly massacred in 5 games by the Celtics. And to add insult to injury, Willis Reed announces his retirement from the NBA. Hopefully this won't be a sign of things to come!
1975 - The team barely squeaks into the playoffs but unfortunately falls to the Rockets. Be sure to remember that team 19 years from now.
1977 offseason - Unfortunately your HOF coach Red Holzman just isn't gonna cut it anymore. It's time to bring back a legend - Willis Reed is your new head coach! Now don't fuck it up.
1978 - The Knicks return to the playoffs and win another playoff series against the Cavs. Unfortunately they are then swept by their crosstown rivals in Philadelphia.
1979 - Turns out Willis Reed decided to be a fucking idiot and has pissed off the Madison Square Garden president. The team brings back Red Holzman as their head coach. Who knew that former players RARELY pan out as successful head coaches?!
1981 - Only took you a few years but you made it back to the playoffs again. But you are then swept by the Bulls in the first round. Remember that team.
1982 - Red Holzman decides to throw in the towel after a mediocre 33-49 season. Sucks that he couldn't go out stronger, but he was a great head coach.
1983 - Regardless, you still made it back to the playoffs just in time for another second round sweep from the 76ers.
1983 offseason - You managed to land prized free agent Bernard King! You got yourself a great player! Now go make some noise!
1984 - The team returns to the playoffs and barely squeaks by an emerging Pistons team in the first round. Unfortunately they run into that OTHER Empire in the Celtics, and fall in 7 games. You've got lots of promise. Keep it going.
1985 - Did I say promise? I meant to say an embarrassing collapse into the pits of hell as Bernard King injures his knee and ends up in rehab.
1985 NBA Draft - At least you're garbage enough to land a top prospect in the draft! By some sort of miracle...and perhaps some shady book cooking by David Stern, you managed to win the NBA's first ever Draft Lottery and won the player that led Georgetown to the 1984 National Championsip - Patrick Ewing! Now we're talking!
1986 - Despite Ewing winning Rookie of the Year, you guys are still trash. Enjoy the basement.
1987 - We need to find a new head coach. This Rick Pitino guy led Providence to the Final Four this year. Let's bring him along.
1988 - You make it back to the playoffs at last, and new draft pick Mark Jackson wins Rookie of the Year! Unfortunately you are then embarrassed by the fucking Celtics again.
1989 - Now you're starting to turn things around. You won the Atlantic Division and another playoff series! Your time is now!
1989 NBA Playoffs, Second Round - That's what we all thought. You get a taste of your new playoff nightmare - the GOAT! Otherwise known as Michael Jordan, as his Bulls torture you slowly over the entire course of 6 games. Have fun hearing that name for the next decade or so.
1990 - Unfortunately Rick Pitino has decided to go back to coaching in college, but your new head coach, assistant Stu Jackson has managed to lead you back to the playoffs! You come back from a 2-0 series deficit and beat those fucking Celtics in a playoff series for once! Yeah, fuck Boston and their dead dynasty!
1990 NBA Playoffs - Unfortunately you are then put out to pasture by the Bad Boy Pistons in 5 games.
1990 - You manage to trade for another face of the franchise to the Warriors for John Starks. Good hire.
1991 - Unfortunately it is not enough as you are swept by those fucking Bulls in the first round again!
1991 offseason - After failing to make it past the second round for god knows how long we need a real head coach again! Let's bring in ex-Lakers head coach and 5-time NBA Champion Pat Riley!
1992 - You return to the playoffs and put an end to the terror of the Bad Boy Pistons once and for all in the first round. Just in time for your annual defeat at the hands of Jordan's Bulls. Again. Well, at least things are looking up for you again.
1993 - You're finally a championship contender again! New acquisitions Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, Greg Anthony, and Derek Harper help you finish with a 60-win season and the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference! You breeze past the first two rounds and return to the Conference Finals for the first time in over 15 years! Your time is now.
1993 Eastern Conference Finals - Unfortunately, the team proceeds to choke away a 2-0 series lead to guess who? Those FUCKING BULLS AGAIN! And that Bulls team goes on to complete a 3-peat in the Finals! You get a trophy of herpes.
1993 offseason - GREAT NEWS! MICHAEL JORDAN HAS BEEN HANDED A 2-YEAR SUSPENSION BY DAVID STERN FOR HIS GAMBLING HABITS! THE WINDOW IS FINALLY OPEN!
1994 - The Knicks finish strong with yet another Atlantic Division title and the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. With Jordan gone the Eastern Conference is sure to be yours! Get going!
1994 NBA Playoffs, Second Round - AT LAST! THE BULLS HAVE FINALLY BEEN DEFEATED!! YAY!!! NOW THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS UP FOR GRABS! Now who are they playing next, the Indiana Pacers?! Pfft, the Knicks have got this in the bag!
1994 Eastern Conference Finals - Ugh, you're down 3-2 in the series to the fucking PACERS of all teams? Fucking hell, just get it over with so I can hit the booze-wait...the Knicks...didn't choke?! They're heading back to MSG for a Game 7?! Say it isn't so!
1994 ECF, Game 7 - YOU DID IT! You made it back to the NBA Finals! All the pain and heartbreak is finally over. And you're facing off against another team looking to end championship heartbreak in the Rockets, led by Ewing's old college rival in Hakeem Olajuwon! Eh, they've made it far enough. It's your fucking time now! Bring that Larry O' Brien trophy home to New York!
1994 NBA Finals - You're DOING IT! You're one game away from winning your first title in 21 years! Sure the OJ chase may have spoiled this moment, but you are one game away now. Finish the job!
1994 NBA Finals, Game 6 - Unbelievable! John Starks is on fire as he continues to make 3-pointer after 3-pointer as he chips away at the Rockets' lead! You're only down by 2 with seconds remaining with the ball in Starks' hand. If he makes this shot at the buzzer he'll become not only Finals MVP, but also a legend in New York sports...now let's savor this moment.
"Found Starks...Rockets don't want to foul, STARKS FOR 3! CAME UP SHORT! The game is over and it will go to a 7th and decisive game on Wednesday!"
And then Hakeem the Dream comes in to spoil your plans. Oh well, at least you have a shot in Game 7-OH RIGHT! They never mention that, do they?!
1994 NBA Finals, Game 7 - Hakeem the Dream comes to life in Game 7 and flat out crushes the Knicks' title dreams with his own two hands. All of New York City's 5 boroughs then demand John Starks' head to be paraded down Times Square for completely falling apart during the game. At least New York got to see the Rangers win the Stanley Cup...I guess?
1995 - New year, fresh start. It's time to avenge last year's Finals defeat...but unfortunately the Pacers are looking for revenge. They nearly blow it but they still seal the deal in Game 7 as Patrick Ewing fucks up the tying basket in the final seconds of play. Fucking hell where's my bottle of Jack?
1995 offseason - And now Pat Riley has decided to fuck off to Miami. Your new head coach is Don Nelson. Eh, could be worse I guess...
1996 - Weird. Nelson is then fired after 59 games after not getting along with the players and is then replaced by Jeff Van Gundy. Well, he does lead you back to the Playoffs and you managed to allow us to laugh at Cleveland again. Unfortunately this is when things make a turn for the worse. Michael Jordan is back from his gambling suspension and his 72-win Bulls then pulverize you in 5 games. Great.
1997 - You have another strong season and you have a 3-1 series lead against the Heat in the second round. Don't fuck this up...
1997 NBA Playoffs, Second Round Game 5 - "PJ Brown throws Charlie Ward...watch out! This one's gonna get really ugly! PJ Brown picked Charlie Ward up and threw him into the photographer's row! I don't know what began this struggle but I did see PJ Brown pick Ward up and heave him upside down!"
Oh Jesus Christ, an all out bloodbath takes place on the court and numerous Knicks players are acting like fucking idiots. And as a result your ENTIRE STARTING FIVE gets suspended for Games 6 and 7! Just fucking wonderful.
1997 NBA Playoffs, Second Round Game 7 - And as a result, the Heat manage to erase a 3-1 series deficit and win the series in 7. Hmm, maybe if you didn't decide to try and kill Miami's players this wouldn't have happened, eh? YOU BLEW IT!!!
1998 - Well, your window is beginning to close on you yet again. You're the 7th seed in the East and you're facing...MIAMI AGAIN?! Ugh...just get it over with already by hurting Miami's players so I can hit the booze again...wait...the Knicks didn't...choke? Even though there was another brawl at the end of Game 4 the Knicks still won the series? Say it isn't so!
1998 NBA Playoffs, Second Round - It isn't as that was just a fluke and the Pacers use Chinese water torture on them for 5 games. Have a nice day.
1999 - And now is where the true horror begins, Knicks fans. You have a new owner at the helm. This name shall haunt you for the next two decades:
James. DOLAN. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! lightning strikes
And it turns out your team is now on it's final legs. Patrick Ewing is aging rapidly, John Starks was traded back to Golden State for this Latrell Sprewell guy who nearly killed his coach, Charles Oakley was traded to the Raptors for Marcus Camby, Jeff Van Gundy is on the brink of losing his job, and the team barely made it into the playoffs as the 8th seed in the East.
And they're facing...Miami again. Yeah, I'm aware that 8 seeds can beat 1 seeds but you are one of the worst 8 seeds in recent memory. Just die a quick death already and get out of my face.
1999 NBA Playoffs, First Round Game 5 - "Allan Houston...Houston ducks under...GOT IT!! WITH 8/10ths LEFT!!"
Oh my god...you're aren't seriously...
"Porter got it away...NO GOOD!! Just missed! And the New York Knicks have become the second #8 team in NBA history to knock off a #1!"
My god you fucking did it again! And while making NBA history at the same time! Well, at least you won a playoff series again I guess. I'm not sure if you can keep it up...
1999 NBA Playoffs, Second Round - You did not...you seriously allowed us to laugh at the Hawks again? AND you made the Conference Finals...as an 8 SEED?!
1999 Eastern Conference Finals - MY GOD YOU FUCKING DID IT! YOU MADE THE NBA FINALS AS AN 8 SEED! My god I just pissed my pants at lightspeed watching this moment. Hopefully you can keep this Cinderella run going. It's almost as if this is destiny...
1999 NBA Finals - Unfortunately the clock struck 12, and you get massacred in 5 games by Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and the Spurs. Still a successful season though. Very successful. I honestly don't think a feat like this will ever be accomplished in the NBA again. An 8 seed in the NBA Finals? That's just unheard of.
Well, at least things are looking up for you...for a little while longer. Better luck next year boys.
2000 - Well, you have definitely improved on last year's record. You're the 3rd seed in the East with a 50-32 record. And you're facing the Pacers in the Conference Finals again. You got this.
2000 Eastern Conference Finals - Unfortunately they don't, as the Pacers finally get over the hump and make their first NBA Finals. Shit. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come and you don't make it back here for another couple decades...please?
2000 offseason - Actually it may be. Patrick Ewing is gone as he has been traded to the SuperSonics. Now is where the suffering begins.
2001 - At least Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell led you back to the playoffs as the 4th seed in the East. Unfortunately it's not enough as you are then force-fed poutine down your throats by the Raptors. We're losing to Toronto now, eh?
2002 - And it gets even worse. Jeff Van Gundy has resigned and now your window has slammed shut on your face. You're terrible again! Not even Houston and Sprewell can save your from this disaster!
2003 - And it gets even worse. Say hello to your new GM. A name that will haunt you for years to come.
Isiah Thomas. lightning strike BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!
2004 - You still somehow pull a playoff berth out of your ass. And you are swept by the Nets. It's as if you were never there...
2005-11 - And the misery continues. Dolan and Isiah continue to run you into the ground by making poor draft picks like Eddy Curry, signing old players to overpriced contracts, and sexual harassment lawsuits aplenty against Isiah.
2011 - You've been garbage for far too long. It's time for you to make a move. You trade a nice package to the Nuggets to obtain Carmelo Anthony
And after throwing a shitload of money at Amar'e Stoudemire you return to the playoffs for the first time in a while only to get swept by an old rival in the Celtics. Old habits die hard, don't they?
2012 - After acquiring this Jeremy Lin guy and staring a new trend called "Linsanity", you return to the playoffs one again and face your old foes in the Heat. Who they proceed to curbstomp you in 5 games as key players get injured and Amar'e Stoudemire decided to be a fucking idiot by punching a glass door guarding a fire extinguisher. If only you weren't such a fucking idiot Stoudemire... YOU BLEW IT!!!
2013 - At last, this is your best season in ages. You win the Atlantic Division for the first time in almost 2 decades and you win 54 games, which is good enough for the 2nd seed in the East, and that's despite the fact that you lost Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields in free agency.
You win a playoff series for the first time in over a decade against those hated Celtics, but unfortunately, your old rivals in the Pacers are waiting. And they put you down in 6 games. There's always next year though...
2013 - Or not. Turns out James Dolan is a fucking idiot and signs another idiot GM to the helm. Phil Jackson.
WILL THE SUFFERING EVER END?!!!
2014-present - And it turns out that was just a fluke, and you're utter cow manure again. What an utter travesty. I would explain more, but Tree explained the Knicks' failures in the modern era better than I ever could. All that talent they've had over the years and they couldn't even win ONE championship? A shame. If it wasn't for Olajuwon's block in Game 6 of the 1994 Finals I bet this team's history would have been drastically different than it is today. That one moment literally sealed the Knicks' fate, and likely for a LONG, LONG time to come. This team still has the fourth longest championship drought in the NBA. They've had to watch as two of their division rivals in the Celtics and Raptors have managed to win championships in the modern era. They've had to watch as they have slipped into irrelevance in the New York sports world as even the goddamn ISLANDERS of all teams have managed to become more relevant than they are. Even the sentient Derp known as the Giants have managed to have more success. And so has the Buttfumble known as the Jets. Even the LOLMets have been more successful too.
And I haven't even gotten to the worst part of this yet. James Dolan is still in his mid-60s. Which means you'll likely be waiting at least another 2 decades until he's on his final breaths of life.
For now, enjoy the basement, Knicks fans. I hope you have enough liquor to last you 20 years.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 12%. (I'm a bot)

DraftKings Inc said on Wednesday basketball legend Michael Jordan will take an undisclosed equity stake in the fantasy sports and gambling company and join its board as a special advisor.
Shares of the company jumped more than 13% to $41.86 in premarket trading.
Jordan, a six-time NBA champion who led the Chicago Bulls' dynasty in the 1990s, is a Basketball Hall of Famer who owns the Charlotte Hornets.
An autographed and well-worn pair of his Nike Air Jordan sneakers fetched a record $560,000 at an auction in May. Jordan has agreed to take an equity interest in DraftKings and will provide strategic and creative advice on areas including product development and marketing, the sports betting company said on Wednesday.
DraftKings was taken public earlier this year by an entity founded by Hollywood executives Jeff Sagansky and Harry Sloan in a deal that valued the company at $3.3 billion.
There has been long-term optimism in the growing market for U.S. sports gambling, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to broadcast networks and sports leagues either postponing or rescheduling games and seasons.

Summary Source | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: company^#1 sports^#2 Jordan^#3 DraftKings^#4 year^#5
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Hey FB Community!!! I hope everyone is having a good week. Last time, I post here I did a “who to watch out for.” However, this time I would like to talk about “maximizing your WW pick-ups,” this week. I know this is kind of late already since its being Monday and all, but there may be still time to make moves! To save time, I am going to give you guys who I am picking up and why, and if you guys would like to share who you are picking up and why that would be great! I hope we can help one another out this week and get that W. Also this is a very long post, so if you dont wanna read it all I would totally understand. ENJOY!
SO LET’S GET STARTED!!
Websites I am using are:
https://hashtagbasketball.com/nba-defense-vs-position
https://hashtagbasketball.com/advanced-nba-schedule-grid
https://basketballmonster.com/playerrankings.aspx
This is a list of criteria on how I would “Maximizing your pick-ups”
(No certain order)

Look for B2B
Matchups
Minutes= Opportunity=Value

If your potential pick up hits two of the three on the list then you have most likely maximized your pick-up!

Monday (12/9) Nine NBA games! (No B2B)
(However I am really only focused on one match-up)
Golden State vs Memphis Grizzlies.
I’m really focused on Memphis Grizzlies players in this match-up because of golden state’s defense. They are just flat out horrible. Using our first link provided, we can see Golden state ranked really badly in defending guards (PG/SG) and horrible at defending (SF). There are two-three potential pick-ups.
- Jae Crowder (SF)- Honestly, hits two of our three criteria. Clear path to minutes and his match up is spicy since GS ranks in the lower half of the middle tier in terms of DVP (defense vs position).
These next two pick-ups are most likely wash because of the recent news that came out about Ja Morant, but if Ja doesn’t suit up please take a look at Tyus Jones/ De’ Anthony Melton as GS is in the bottom five in terms of DVP on Pgs.

Tuesday (12/10) Four matchups (three B2B)
(Two team, I am focusing on is the New York Knicks)
They are playing a b2b and their match ups are spicy as they can be. They play both Portland and Golden State. Which both teams ranked horrible at defending against Point Guards.
Which means I’m focusing on either picking up:
-Frank Ntilikina (PG) Steal specialist
-Elfrid Payton (PG) All-production
-Dennis Smith Jr (PG) Offensive minded
I would like to remind people this is a major gamble because you do not know what PG will start/get the most minutes/ etc. I went with Payton since he gives the all production, but he hits two of the three criteria on the list (B2B, matchups)
*Next team, I would focus on is Denver Nuggets (Tuesday& Thursday Match-ups)
The main reason why I am focused on the Nuggets is not because of their match up for Tuesday (against 76ers), but actually their match up for Thursday. If you have a full loaded line for Wednesday. This might be your best possible move. The main person, I would target here is Gary Harris. I’ll explain my reason on the Thursday match-up.

Wednesday (12/11) Eleven match-ups (two B2B)
IMO, you honestly don’t need to pick up anyone here. You should be close to a full line up. However, if you are like me drop Jae or your Monday pick-up and prepare for Thursday-Sunday games.

Thursday (12/12) Four Match-ups (One B2B)
You could potentially pick up someone on the 76ers since they play a B2B but they play Boston and then New Orleans. I’m not too high on anyone for this B2B matchups, but if I would select someone it would be:
-Matisse Thybulle (SG): Stock Specialist. If you pick him up and he gives you at least 6 stocks between two games then it was a good pick up, but with Josh Richardson looking prime to return soon and could take away Matisse minutes. I would avoid him at all cost, if this happens.
So the one match-up, I am focused on is the Denver Nuggets Vs Portland Trailblazers. Alright this is probably where, I lose most of you and I completely understand, but the guy I am betting my chips on is Gary Harris.
-Gary Harris (SG) offensive mind shooting guard with a steal or so a game.
In the past two weeks, he is ranked inside the top 100 according to BBM. Portland is in the middle-to low of the pack in terms of DVP, and Gary Harris also has a clear path of minutes. If Gary can give me a couple of threes with good FG% and a steal. I’m happy with my pick up.

Friday (12/13) Nine Match-ups (6 B2B) (multiple Match-ups, I am focusing on)
*-P.J Tucker (Rockets) Stocks, Threes If available:
I am selecting him since they play Orlando and Detroit. Tucker has been killing it this year; no one is taking his minutes away, and he has a nice match up with Detroit as they ranked dead last in guard PFs. He hits the trifecta in terms of our criteria.
-Joe Ingles (SF): All-around game. Their match-up is against GS. They’re middle to low tier when guarding SF. He has been inserted into the starting line up in place of Mike Conley. If Mike Conley is back out on the floor by the time this matchup starts then don’t pick up Joe.
*-P.J Washington (PF) potential 1/1/1 guy. Plays Chicago. Chicago is in the bottom at guarding PFs. P.J has a clear path to minutes, P.J needs to avoid foul trouble. However P.J might already be picked up in your league or he might not play since he just hurt his ankle this past Sunday.
**Clippers play a B2B against Minnesota and Chicago players like Pat Bev could get some extra run.

Saturday (12/14) Eight Match-ups (2 B2B)
Honestly, Both teams who play in B2B aren’t really exciting, but if you kept Gary Harris then you could use him here since OKC isn’t good at defending against SGs. The Knicks however are surprising good at guarding against Sgs. However, they are bad at giving up the three from the SG position. If Gary Harris can hit a couple of threes. That’s a win imo.
Another intriguing match-up is the Spurs vs the Suns.
The Suns ranked in the middle of the pack in terms for defending the Center. However, They are in the bottom in terms of Fg% for opposing Centers, and they give up a ton of rebounds to opposing centers, and opposing Centers block a ton of shots on them as well. If you need some rebounds, Fg%, or blocks; Jakob Poeltl might be a nice streaming option.
-Jakob Poeltl ( C ): Traditional Center, Ranked 34th in the past two weeks according to BBM, might not see a lot of minutes, so that could be a problem. However if he is able to provide what you need, then its worth it.

Sunday (12/15) Six Match-ups (No B2B)
A couple of Match-ups I am focusing on, Orlando vs New Orleans and Charlotte vs Indiana.
NO is in the bottom half of defending against Centers. If Nikola Vucevic is out and if you need Big man stats Mo Bamba or Khem Birch could be a decent option for you.
-Mo Bamba: ( C ) Block specialist with a three ball. Could hurt FG%
-Khem Birch ( C ) Low end all-around player, gets more minutes than Mo.
The Indiana Pacers ranked in the bottom half of defending against PFs. If P.J Washington is healthy, he has potential to provide value in this game. Look at Friday’s match-ups for details on P.J Washington.

I had the holidays to myself this year (mid 30s bachelor, siblings were with in-laws) and had a comped room at Aria so I made a trip to Vegas from San Francisco, CA. I had told myself I will take a day off the Strip to visit Fremont.
My strategy - This is a more aggressive style I've been playing this holiday season. Before I never pressed my bets and it was just a grind session. While this trip was a negative, I believe that if I did not press my bets on the hot shooters, my losses would be greater and my wins would be less. The data does not show the times where I was out 75% of my buy-in and a hot shooter came in to save my ass

Make the pass line bet for minimum. On $5 tables, I went max odds up to 5x. On $10, $15, $25 tables, I went with 1x, 2x, 3x.

1A) If the dealer is friendly and making jokes and small talk, I would bet $1-$5 on the pass for them.
2) I place all the inside numbers 5, 6, 8, 9 for the minimum bet.
3) If the point is 4, 6, 8 10, I make a two way hardway for just the point number for $5 and $1 tip
4) If there is the ATS bonus, I typically played it. On $5 tables, I bet two way 212 ($2 All Small, $1 All, $2 All Tall). At $10 and $15 tables, 555 for me, 212 for dealers
5) I try to press my wins up to quarters (for 5/9, it goes along $5 > $10 > $25. for 6/8, $6 > $12 > $24 > $30) before collecting.
5A) If it's a cold table and I'm in the red, I would collect the first win before pressing.
5B) If I have successfully pressed it up to quarters, if I collected a win off the pressed bet, and if I had already made a good profit (more than 50% of my buy-in, I keep pressing up past $100.
6) If the table is cold, I give it 2 go-arounds to see if it heats up. If a shooter had a hot roll, I play 1 more go-around to see if they still got heat.
7) After color up, I leave all the loose $1 and $5 chips on the table

Some highlights

Another player and I both hit either All Tall or All Small for $5 each several times in a session
At Planet Hollywood, I bought in just as a shooter started to heat up. He was a new player so he only had the pass line, no odds, and the field. I had my inside numbers pressed up to $100+ each. Made $500 off the guy's roll and his own stack never grew. We kept telling him to place odds and to play the numbers, but he kept his own style. I was the next shooter and rolled for 25 minutes, again pressing several up past $100+
At MGM Grand, we had a hot shooter and the dealer was just giving a lot of us shit for not pressing enough or adding to our bets. I had pressed up to $100+ and he just kept shaking his head at us. The players next to me never pressed.
At Bellagio, I stepped in just as a quiet older lady started her roll. She had a hot roll and hit the points instantly several times, hitting several hard points, and I had pressed up again. She only made one side of the bonus and it got me out of the red. I head over to Park MGM and 30 minutes later she joins the table. This time she hits the bonus for my 555/212 bet. Session ended with $1200 profit. If you wanted to know - she always played stick left, no dice setting, just picked it up, and flicked the dice like a lady throwing her silk handkerchief
At Excalibur, I stepped into a roll in progress. For some reason, the other side of the table had the puck off and I bought in mid-roll. This is my personal NO-NO rule. I would have waited it out, but I made a mistake and disturb the roll. The guy was hot and I pressed my $5 to $100. After he PSO, I just colored up.

Some take-aways

My best sessions were just being in the right place at the right time.
The female players had the best rolls. The better ones were playing besides their husbands. Single women, not too "hot"
Set the dice if you want and if you believe. No one cares as long as you're winning. One beginner shooter had a hot roll, but he had the worst roll style in the world. The dice wouldn't even make it down the table, it slipped out of the hand, if he manages to get it down the table, he chucked it so hard it destroyed all the stacks.
TIP THE DEALERS!! I played and tipped constantly at Park MGM and the dealers recognized me every night. They even talked to the pit boss to let me play with the lower minimum if they had just upped it before I joined in. I tipped at every table during the entire trip so the dealers knew my bets and would remind me if I had missed something.

Day	Date
Casino	Table Minimum	Odds	Length of Play	Buy-in	Color Up	Rounds	Comments

Wednesday	12/25
Aria	$15	3, 4, 5	1:20	$600	$300	3 rounds
Planet Hollywood	$15	3, 4, 5	1:00	$600	$1500	2 shooters	30 min roll, follow by 25 min roll. Couldn't see the dancing girls from the craps tables
Paris	$10	3, 4, 5	1:30	$600	$175	2 rounds
Bally's	$10	3, 4, 5	0:25	$300	$135	1 round	This felt like a Reno casino
			Day Total	$2100	$2110		well.....what a haul

Thursday	12/26
MGM Grand	$15	3, 4, 5	1:20	$600	$1075	3 rounds
Mandalay Bay	$10	3, 4, 5	0:30	$475	$305	3 rounds	It was dark and empty
Luxor	$10	3, 4, 5	0:30	$305	$105	6 shooters	One table, too close to other games
Excalibur	$5	3, 4, 5	0:30	$500	$825	1 shooter
Park MGM	$10	3, 4, 5	2:00	$700	$1400	6 rounds	Bonus All Tall x 2
NY NY	$10	3, 4, 5	0:30	$500	$260	1 round	It felt cramped due to it being placed underneath some overhead structure
			Day Total	$3080	$3970		Much better this time

Friday	12/27
Cromwell	$15	100	0:20	$500	$185	1 round	Did not like the atmosphere
Flamingo	$10	3, 4, 5	0:40	$500	$355	1 round
Linq	$10	3, 4, 5	0:20	$220	$170	2 rounds	Felt like a shopping mall
Mirage	$10	3, 4, 5	2:00	$500	$700	5 rounds	Lots of open space around the tables
Aria	$15	3, 4, 5	1:00	$860	$490	4 rounds
Bellagio	$15	3, 4, 5	1:45	$1490	$1500	5 rounds	Too many reserved tables for $50, $100, and $300 min
Aria	$25	3, 4, 5	1:45	$2000	$1500	7 rounds
Park MGM	$15	3, 4, 5	1:15	$500	$1700	2 rounds	Bonus ATS
			Day Total	$6570	$6600		Down then back up

Saturday	12/28
Four Queens	$5	5	1:15	$200	$400	4 rounds
The D	$5	10	1:45	$400	$700	1 round	Cutest cocktail waitresses in LV
Fremont	$5	2	0:30	$200	$140	1 round
Binions	$5	3, 4, 5	0:30	$240	$275	1 round	One table had cute female dealers in ref stripes
Golden Nugget	$10	10	0:45	$375	$430	2 rounds	Bonus All Small
Golden Gate	$5	10	1:00	$530	$140	3 rounds
Plaza	$5	10	0:30	$340	$240	3 shooters	One table, felt like an old gambling hall
Main St Station	$5	20	0:15	$220	$380	1 round
California	$10	2	0:30	$380	$265	1 round	All older asian men
Aria	$15	3, 4, 5	1:00	$1000	$635	3 rounds
Park MGM	$10	3, 4, 5	1:15	$635	$385	3 rounds
			Day Total	$4320	$3990		Oh no

Sunday	12/29
Excalibur	$5	3, 4, 5	3:00	$1000	$300	6 rounds
MGM Grand	$15	3, 4, 5	0:45	$800	$825	1 round
Park MGM	$10	3, 4, 5	1:15	$825	$700	2 rounds
Aria	$15	3, 4, 5	1:45	$1500	$560	5 rounds	Some NBA players had a reserved table. I didn't see their bets but people kept asking them for pictures which they seem cool about
			Day Total	$4125	$2385		Oh NOOO

Sessions up	Sessions down		Length of Play	Total in	Total out	Times as Shooter
13 out of 33	20 out of 33		~ 37:00	$20395	$19055	~70 - 80

The mods told me to make a new thread since the old one got too lit so here goes.
I think Formal goes to either LG Faze or NV. I think Karma might go to EU or Faze. Theres no chance they are a to2 since Formal doesnt want to play with Karma but that could change if they think they can get the old OG league spot by staying as a to2. If they dont get that then they wont be on the same team.
Kenny and Tommy are thinking about offers to leave. I think they would take a move to OG to the mystery org especially if the $$$ is good. Attach isnt saying anything so no idea whats up with him. TK loses their league spot if Kenny leaves. I dont think KOS has the money to match the new org either if thats where he wants to go.
Gunless is being sketchy and I guess hes still talking to Matt. I dont think he would go to OG or the new org without a few bands and he isnt the kind of guy to like the spotlight. All he does is grind cod more than anyone can guess. I dont think money is a big thing to him either unlike Matt.
All 4 of the OG guys told everyone their done with OG so even if crim and scump go to the new org then I still dont see Matt and Damon staying on OG. I know Crim wants out and i think would only have a chance of staying on OG if Scump said he wants to stay on OG. If Scump stays on OG its because OG matched the offer from the new org. I think thats the only way OG would keep a league spot without buying out a full roster from another league team. It would cost just as much money to do that as matching the new orgs offer. I could be wrong on that 20K a month since I heard that from someone who said one of the OG guys told him.
I watched the codcast and all I gotta say is it should be obvious whats going on and that it lines up with my other thread. Crim messed up when he said that damon will improve the team hes going to then caught himself and said "if he leaves or stays." I told you guys they didnt scrim because they were making a chance and crim sort of said the same shit.
The higher ups that told damon to not go on codcast could have meant Holly. I dont know since i dont have his phones bugged. Maybe it was Hecz and just because Damon is mad at Seth doesnt mean he will throw everyone under the bus. Its not like him and Holly are going to be mad at everyone.
Danny is hilarious and roasted Crim for letting Haggy get top 6. I think Teep is mad at the roster for making him look bad too.
I confirm Emmy is Johns girl but i dont know if shes 100% filled in on everything. Its also weird to me if Scump and Crim are to3 with Octane instead of John.
Everything changes every few hours so if I say something it is whats going on right now but might not be a few hours from now. I decided ill only post updates when i believe everything is set in stone now since people get mad and try to talk shit if something different happens. If something is just a little bit wrong then people get mad just like when I said karma was up for 3 days when holly said it was 2 instead. My bad he told me in the lobby he was up for 3 days. If 1% of something is wrong it doesnt mean the other 99% is wrong.
I found out exactly what the tshirt is about. I wont say it publically but if any pro DMs me here ill confirm it. I also dont have beef with anyone and its just banter in my old thread.
I will try to answer questions by updating the OP so stuff isnt buried like in the old thread.
I AM NOT CODBURNER2018MANIA on twitter or twitch or anywhere. Dont listen to those accounts they are fake. I dont have any other accounts I will post on except here with this one.
..............................................
Thursday night questions answered

Okay so what you're saying is there is 0% chance no roster change occurs for OG or?

Zero chance they stay together now and that should be obvious from codcast or Karma's stream today. Matt also tweeted something.

Karma just mentioned talking to Hecz in his stream. Which would explain why Hecz daughter and Damon's daughter were pictured on HEcz's wife's Twitter yesterday. So there is clearly still a stable relationship with the two, but it makes you start to think that the other guys are leaving OG. This is going to be a long process.

Theres alot of respect outside of between the 4 players. Hecz has no problem with any of them.

If damon and matt go to different teams, who they replacing? So which do you believe it’s the most likely roster now?

All of you are getting your panties twisted when I make a guess so I wont do that anymore sorry

Wait so if karma told you personally he was up for three days then he for sure knows who you are?

Lots of people were downstairs in the zebra bar, the lobby, the restaurant, and outside that he talked to and saw him with the shirt

So what is the team Scump and Crim will most likely form? Someone said it’d be Scump Crim Gunless Octane, any truth to that?

I think they try to get a sub and have Crim flex

How do you get all of this new info if you said that the four guys aren’t saying anything to anyone anymore?

What I mean is they arent typing much in the group chats.

what happens to teep if og ends up with no roster?

He works for infinite which will probably make him still work with GGEA teams. i think he gets a fat check anyway.

Is this investor the same person who runs the Reciprocity Halo team?

idk who that is

And if you were confident in your intel people like him wouldn’t bother you.

The intel is what i heard and is the last i heard while posting it. People went to bed thinking Faze was trading Attach for Gunless and then woke up and it was Clay instead.

Either way this Cod burner dude is stiring up some shit and I think he should remove this post because it's starting to impact these guys life's.

Moves were going to be made no matter if these posts existed or not. You covering your ears and eyes wont stop OG from making a change.

Damon just confirmed the shirt wasn't his on stream. Haggy said everything is wrong lol

Holly also said nothing was happening with optic but we know thats not true. Tell Damon to come here and post that and I'll put the full story out there for him if he forgot.

It's about Formal. What's his deal man? After BO3 Champs, I genuinely got the impression that he straight up hated the others. Nameless has already said that during at least some of IW they hated each other, and Crim mentioned it in an old video that going into the game they weren't even sure if they'd stick together. If the IW season didn't start going their way, am I right in assuming that this change would've happened much sooner?

Matt is just quiet and has a different personality. He doesnt like going out and prefers to chill with melissa instead. If Karma lost that 1v1 in round 11 last year they prob would have made changes. They arent winning this year so they want to make changes now. If reep didnt pull off that 1v3 they might of stuck together.

This is annoying because we all know how indecisive the pros are. They change what they want to do basically everyday. Roster lock needs to hurry up

Yea and thats why i say my intel is correct as of when I last heard something.

Everyone saying oh Kenny won’t leave to cause he’s got a tk tattoo an attach won’t leave cause he’s friends with the owners of faze are completely delusional have someone offer you a fucking bag and turn it down cause your too close with a org fuck outta here

They were talking about leaving while at the casino in the uk

Hey burner could you explain the way gunless grinds? I rarely see him in pros 8s when they are streamed. Do they scrim a lot? Or does he play a lot of pubs or ranked? I've heard he grinds the most but pro 8s only happen so much

He never stops playing. he thinks its fun to have like 1000 accounts at max prestige. (No he doesnt have a 1000 and i exaggerated that but he does have a few.)

Hey man, Ever consider grabbing up "codburner.com", (its available) and doing this as a means to direct all of this to a dedicated location to capitalize off of advertising revenue generated through traffic?

idc about that...if i did i would of made a twitter

Hey burner, so if Kenny did end up leaving, tK wouldn't have the league spot, but who would get it? How does that get decided? Would the squad of Accuracy Methodz and Fero still be able to be in the pro league?

They shouldnt have a spot but MLG could always give it to them like they did with ricky/col
................................................ Friday morning questions answered. Im only reading and answering questions that are replies directly to the OP. If your question is a reply to someone elses reply then it wont be read.

As for Codburner, I highly doubt anyone on OG gets paid 20K/mth to play CoD. That's top pay for a LoL player. I heard the standard salary for a CoD player is somewhere around 50K/yr plus tournament prizes if any.

Nobody on OG gets paid 20K a month. Scump might have said thats the cost for him to leave OG which would make sense if hes already making 10-15k there.

Any talks about Damon retiring?

not that I know of

Dude what happened with complexity??? Something about a fight with Ricky and Blaztful. I also heard censor held blazt by the neck. Apparently it was pretty serious. Any intel???

Rick was acting really weird and talking shit to his teammates right before a match. He's getting a big head because he holds the old era league spot.

Aint not one paying 20k to cod players a month lmao I think thats the most absurd thing in this whole post. That would literally be throwing money down the drain. Even Stewie2k couldnt get that from Cloud9 on CSGO I highly doubt they would do 20k to 4 players where there would be no return on investment

Scump himself has 10x the amount of twitter followers and way more influence over than stewie2k. Think about how much merch Scump alone in a new jersey would sell. He has wayyyyyyyyyyy more value to a brand than any other american player.

Why is no one talking about the fact that throughout this year, casters and MLG have been going crazy about "storylines". That they want comp cod to be "more like the WWE"-courage. What if this is all a ruse, and when the smoke clears, at the next event "look at OG, even through adversity, they stuck it out what an amazing story"

After all the latest tweets and codcasts from players you still think this is a hoax? lol

So Optic is staying together right?

100% absolutely. They resigned for 10 years. Kappa
..................................................................
friday night questions

So will OG have a roster after all this goes down or are they dipping out of cod?

I dont know what the org will do if 3 of their players leave. They might buy another league team but that would be alot.

Any update on John? What we've pieced together so far is that he's declined the offer from Scump and Crim. Has anything changed? Because Octane John Scump and Crim would be the most OP lineup ever.

He might be thinking it over again. idk.

Or if one of them stays and MLG grants the org a spot. for example Ricky moved as a solo and still retained a spot. It would be in the best interest for MLG to grant OG a spot as they would be lossing a rather large fan base for COD. Obviously fans will follow the players but there are still a ton if OG fans that wint watch if Optic isnt in the league

Idk about that. If OG bought the Tainted Minds roster so they are in the league how many people would watch and support them as OG?

I heard something that the buyout was met but the org refused cause they could in their contract and that the buyout was essentially like a reference number or something like that? I think that was just some random comment though so probably wrong

That isnt a buyout then. A buyout is a set number in the contract that allows the player to leave without the org having any say. Maybe they were trying to negotiate a lower amount.

What if Formal and Karma leave as a TO2 and go to a different team and Scump and Crim do the same thing?

Noone is sure about that and bevils wondered the same thing a few weeks ago.

As of right now, what are the most likely rosters that are forming? Is Kenny going to join Crimsix Scump Octane?

It would be a guess but if I had to guess I would say Kenny with them unless John changes his mind

Will you ever reveal your identity?

yea

Any news on FaZe? Would reep retire if he got dropped or Zooma/Attach left?

It would depend on offers he would get from other teams

You initially said that Trei was moving from Red but he has come out and denied that he is moving or ever was. So i presume it is just Skrapz and Josh to swap teams with no changes for Splyce?

Some teams asked about bance and thats why i posted about him but i think they perfer to move tommy.

Do you think all the rosters will be announced on, before, or after the 7th?

robably all of the above lol

Do you see the team of Kenny, Zooma, Scump, and Crim on Optic as a possible opportunity? Or would that not be doable as it seems Scump and Crim want out of Optic?

I dont see that roster happpening or know how that would work lol. Scump and Crim want to leave OG last i heard but maybe OG is trying to negotiate

Yawn

Get off the internet and go to sleep :D

Do you think the new org will be a different Optic team? Like the way they have Optic Gaming and then Optic nation? Or will it be a whole new org in general? I dont think the org would be a different team like optic nation and would be a completely different one. Im not sure if its a brand new one or already existing one.
How many events wins is it gonna take Gunless to get some attention from pokimane? Man is OBSESSED.

Just 1 more because that means 3 wins for ww2 so Halflife 3 confirmed
................................................. satuday and sunday night questions.

There's no chance on to3 scump, formal and crim looking for 1 more?

None

did u saw nadeshots pic that he posted on twitter with the new Vice President of Finance and Operations of 100T ? (Jason Ton) could this be the asian guy OG was talking too ?

I dont know if the guy was asian. I saw him in the car and he looked middle eastern.

When will you reveal your identity? Would it be after the last possible roster changes?

I will for Clay's birthday

So Scump Octane & Crim are a to3?

Yea

are karmas top prospect teams still eU and FaZe or have they changed?

He said no on stream so I assume not. Alot of people are trying to put up smoke tho.

Accuracy tweet is hinting at something happening to the tk roster 👀

TK wont let Kenny go since they would lose the league spot and they dont want to bring back Theory

Can you leak one potential roster for us? I wont care if it turns out to not happen later, just wanna see how things are looking so far
So ive seen all tgese pros tweeting someone got fannessed whats that all about and is faze still together?
Is ZooMaa leaving FaZe ????

Octane Crim Scump Zoomaa is what they all want now

Why do you pros insist on gentlements agreements??

Some stuff is OP and shouldnt be in the game at a pro level. That stuff is in the regular game for pubs and MLG is too slow to fix it for the league and events.

Do you have any idea why Crim and Scump couldn't get Gunless? Was there even an attempt in the first place?

Gunless doesnt want to team with them without Formal.

Wait so Scump/Crimsix + Octane could actually happen? Scump and Octane are my favourite players so that would be an absolute dream. I'll support wherever they end up.

Its looking likely. The bigger thing is who will they get for second sub since lots of teams wont let their players go.

do any of the pros know who you are, and are they trying to figure it out? I would think there would be a mad witch hunt for you in the 8s chats.

Yea so im being more careful now. Their also trying to call me fake because their scared about personal stuff i know. If Im wrong then they wouldnt be talking about me so much.
I expect to see announcements tomorrow and one big thing thats not the OG team
................................... Tuesday stuff

What can be big that doesn’t involve og?

Broke an hour ago about methodz

Any news on zoomaa is he going or are faze not letting him go?

supposedly they wont let him go since there arent any subs out there except royalty

Just curious where that relationship went so wrong they don’t want to team or if they are still friends, just need to part ways to refresh their careers?

They just annoyed each other after awhile and never worked out differences. Its too far now to fix.

Is OG still in COD ppl are saying the New Org bailed out on Scump and Crim?

I dont think they signed anything new with anyone yet including OG

Do you think Tommey will go to another team or are there any teams looking to pick him up? Or do you think he is going to full time stream now?

probably to unilad if skrapz gets bought out fully

What is happening in regards to FaZe if Zoomaa leaves for OpTic, and are you not scared of losing trust with players if you reveal yourself?

I dont think Faze will release Zoomaa since their roster would be weird. The methodz stuff is true that OG owns him now.

Do you think people have any idea who you actually are?

yes some know

What if og give formal the chance to build a team and pay for whoever he wants, any chance that happens if the other 3 leave? I know theyre all done with og but wouldnt that be too big a chance for someone with a winning mentality to pass up?

hes already traded to LG for octane

Codburner has been right about barely half of the time.

at the very least half more than you are. :D

So is OG sticking with OG now or still switching

Its unclear until an OG guy says something to someone

have you guys heard anything about crim and scump teaming with slasher and gunless from rise?

I dont think thats happening unless Rise drops players and signs those two. Rise has no reason to sell Slasher and Gunless.
more stuff: methodz was bought by OG yesterday as an extra bargaining chip since TK never paid rise for him LG wont let john go so OG went after zoomaa and asked to trade methodz for him Kenny is stuck on TK even though OG will pay his buyout because he had to tell TK 14 days in advance and he didnt if OG doesnt get zoomaa then maybe we will see Karma still play on OG
............................. tuesday night questions

Will Optic try get John or Kenny again or are them 2 and Zoomaa a definate no?

No on kenny because tk would lose their league spot. He has a buyout but it required 14 day notice that would have been after roster lock. LG wont let john go because then they are stuck with OGs problem of not having a second sub. Same with faze and zoomaa. teams arent in a hurry to help OG.

don't you think Slacked will get dropped too bc Formal and John dont like him I thought? Or have u not heard anything about that..

if they drop slacked who would they get to replace him? Royalty? it would be the same problem OG has with not having a second sub

Did optic ever consider trying to go for Arcitiys ?

not that I know of and I dont think eu would release him because they have backing and clay would be pissed.

lol how didnt tk pay for methodz contrac/buyout before seattle

TK and a bunch of orgs dont really have lots of money. Rise is owned by an nfl player but he probably only has 10 mil in the bank. They wont even give their players raises. my thinking is they were hurried to sell methodz or else pay his salary when they got slasher. TK was the only one who wanted him and was banking on them placing well so they could pay his buyout. tk doesnt have alot of $$$ though and was only paying their players 3-4K. they all wanted to leave after atl.

What happens if if they stuck with karma. But don't want to team up with him will scum bag be a F/A and Crim too?

they dont want to play with karma so i think they wold be stuck with zinni

What happened to that mystery Org you were talking about so much in the beginning??

Everyone that knows all of that got quiet. I think they wanted scump crim and formal.

If you had to put money on what Optic's roster would be what do you think?

right now id put money on scump crim octane methodz

From what u know, if u had to bet, who do u think realisticly will be the 4th? Think they end up getting Tommy or go with a felo or royalty caliber player

Most likely methodz. Their not getting Tommy and i dont know if they would take royalty or felo. Royalty would be easy to get but felo would probably have a buyout and eu/clay would be pissed

Is the LG roster assuming Formal, Kap, John and Slacked also going to change? like is that the 4 players for sure?

Formal is already part of LG before the weekend. Im not saying LG 100 % wont make more moves but that is most likely their roster unless OG wants to give them scump for slacked or something stupid.

So Sam will 1000% be teaming with Seth and Ian?

they are a to3 under OG but that doesnt mean OG wont sell Sam if Scump and Crim leave for the new org. It all depends what those two do since they have the league spot bc Formal is on LG already.

Is karma really sitting out for the rest of year? Personally think it would be a great move if he replaces Methodz in tk. Do you think there are a possibility of that happening?

Noone said anything about him retiring thats for sure not a troll. TK only paid maybe 3-4k a month so he is probably better off staying with OG even if he doesnt play.
..................................................... wednesday morning stuff

Can’t zoomaa just bench himself like gunless did back in eu? Then faze would be forced to make change.

Sure if he doesnt want to get paid while he does that. I wouldnt be surprised if they could also fine him for that. Roster lock is in 6 days and i dont think he'd hold out after that anyway.

Who did they scrim?

EU and Faze

the owner of rise has a 32 million dollar deal with the LA Rams and 20 mill guaranteed. he already made 5 mill+ from a rookie contract

and more than half of his contract is gone. Here is something on ESPN for nba players and its pretty close to the same for NFL players. He doesnt have dan gilbert money. He probably only has less than 5 million in his bank account right now unless he spent none of it. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20715128/nba-player-salaries-take-home-pay

Without saying too much. I can confirm Karma/Crim we’re getting paid $4000 a month in salary from Optic in 2017.

I dont know if thats funny or sad

So Kenny is stuck on tK and accuracy and f3ro are staying so who do they get as their fourth? They need a decent flex/main AR, and if Karma is unwilling to go because of the pay then who do they get? Dashy? Haggy?

dashy has a huge buyout and is why NV didnt get him. TK doesnt have $$$ to pay the 30K coL asked for him last time.coL is owned by the dallas cowboys and i dont think they would sell dashy cheap. haggy maybe is available but i dont think they want to play with him.

So now that information has leaked that Optic is negotiating for players to play alongside Crim and Scump, what happened to this mystery org that was willing to throw all this money around for an elite squad? Are they not in the running for a team anymore?

Of course OG is negotiating to try to trade for players to make Scump and Crim happy but that doesnt mean its working. I havent heard too much about the mystery org this week and idk if their still interested. I think they wanted Formal too but thats impossible now. Maybe OG is matching close to what they offered to Scump and Crim.

Is there any bad blood on faze or tk since people wanted to go but couldn’t?

maybe but they will get over it

What is the possibility that TeePee is OG's new 4th?

I think hes happy coaching and wouldnt want to play

Is there any possibility TK lets kenny go for a trade of Methodz and like royalty? Since MLG could technically let them keep their league spot if they wanted to.

Yes mlg could do anything they want but methodz is owned by og now and they have no reason to let go of kenny. Hes their best player too.

So who’s replacing methodz?

If you mean on TK then no idea. They dont have lots of money so who could they realistically afford? only maybe someone not in the league like enable.

How exactly do you know that zooma is not leaving faze?

Hes telling people he cant get out. Faze is telling people they wont trade him. OG is telling people they cant get him.

john being forced to stay on LG. Sucks to be that way. How can a player be motivated to play and perform well when he's playing with people he doesn't wanna play with anymore?

John is a fighter and has self respect. Players know if they play like shit the rest of ww2 that their stock goes down for bo4. Lots of people could learn from him. Dont sign a contract if you wont follow it.

By the looks of it optic doesn’t want methodz at all because vision was delayed until Sunday meaning that the rosters still aren’t set. I’m guessing they are still working on a zoomaa trade.

They can keep trying for someone but it doesnt mean it will happen. Idk what they will end up doing.

So if you plan to eventually reveal who you are, why wouldn't you do it now? You've already said that some pros know who you are, and a lot of others have a strong idea... so why wait? I'm just looking at it as a way to get rid of the people that just come in here to shit on your credibility and say you know nothing. If you truly are a pro, and prove that, then no one is going to question it for the most part. But as of now you have people that probably have never even been to an event pretending their best friends with the entire pro community. Either way, I appreciate the intel, no it hasnt been 100% accurate, but like you said, things constantly change.

If i did it now then id be cut off obv. Idc about being first or convincing people anyway. People are blind in denial if they think everything is still fine and the same with OG or other teams.

The new OG will probably be scump, crim, methodz and octane but do you see a slight chance of someone else than Methodz? Slacked just tweeted "I one day hope I can team with replays the goat" Do you see this as a possibility, Slacked to Faze, then get Zooma to OG and give Methodz to LG? because this seems like the only way to get Zooma on OG.

Sure if they decide to go after a guy like Royalty or some random sub. Slacked and Zoomaa are trolling right on twitter.

So your saying there’s no way they can get John, Kenny, attach or zooma? If that’s the case then drop or sell Methodz and try to reconcile with karma. Cause no way that team will work with Methodz. Could they possibly get attach Or they are not selling anyone?

LG, tk, and faze wont let their players go because they would have the problem OG has now that theres no good subs available. Faze is rich so money wont solve that problem with zoomaa. TK would lose the league spot without kenny and since they dont have money that would be bad since they would lose sponsors (just think aboiut how no one talked about them last year ever). LG is a top team and has no reason to trade John. People arent in a hurry to give up their best players to help OG.

nV aren't making a change are they? They have a solid team atm and are a dark horse

Everybody always looks for a change but it might not be there

Very unlikely but is there a chance that OG buys a whole team like TK, Faze or LG and just replace the players for the ones on OG?

Thats technically possible but i dont think that would happen

I know the OG guys went radio silent but any chance Damon/Seth reconcile out of necessity?

I dont see it happening. Its been going on for a long time now.

Any idea what Kosdff was referring to when he was talking about “shadiness” in one of his tweets? Possibly about Kenny or Methodz? I also don’t think Kosdff is the type to trap a player, but I also don’t think he owns the majority of tK to make that decision.

Idk for sure but TK isnt rich. If he loses kenny or accuracy they lose their league spot and become irrelevent again like they were in IW. Something else he did recently says otherwise about him being a good guy

If I was Hecz I'm telling Scump and Crimsix that they will have to play with Karma. Just do it. Play their bluff. I don't think Crimsix and Scump have the balls to leave at this point knowing they won't have Octane, and they couldn't get a sub while on OG. Hecz should play their bluff. Force them to play with Karma.

If hecz did that they would call his bluff since they know if they leave to another org then OG has no more league spot and wont want to keep Octane then. Hecz isnt the real boss at OG anymore anyway.

It seems like there's a major shortage of good sub players this year, everyone and their mother wants to play AR

its a 3 sub game and the best ones are locked up under contract.

Scump, Crim, Octane and Zoomaa or Scump, Crim, Octand anda Methodz? This are the two possible teams?

No on Zoomaa.

Have you heard anything about maybe OG going after temp? He seems like the only option besides royalty for a sub player.

EF is owned by rick fox shaq and the yankees i think so he probably has a big buyout and they dont need money. They also did good at Seattle so why would they change their team?

Funding like that doesn't get taxed like you think it does. Investments into companies aren't considered as income.

No.

Any chance og try to trade methodz to nv for chino and then offer chino and $$$ to tK for kenny, I know that still leaves tK needing a sub player and it doesn’t make sense for nv to let go of chino but og is running out of time and options unless they plan on playing with karma or methodz.

If NV wanted methodz they could of got him before Seattle. 51% OG ends up with methodz playing today.

what was the faze roster in that scrim, because the fact 'zooma' came on to scrim, suggests that he is no leaving!??

same roster

What if he wants to leave ?

Both kenny and methodz are under contract and cant.
..................................................................
wednesday night questions

Did you leak your identity to zoomaa?

he knows me well :D

What if he wants to leave ?

both are under contract and its not up to them

Ah gotcha. I thought you meant some people knew it was you and don't care so they're still telling you. Either way, I'm glad you're doing it. Hate being left in the dark by teams while all this is happening. One of the most entertaining thing for sports fans is offseason moves/trades/FA signing etc. Don't understand why esports make everything so secretive. fan bases would be even more dedicated if pros/orgs let fans be more aware. Anyone who thinks different obviously hasn't seen the traffic this entire subreddit has gained and how much your posts are being looked at everyday. Just my thoughts

people want transparency but get mad when someone tries to give it. OG fans wanted Karma gone for the longest time and now that it happened their mad.

If players salaries were considered an investment rather than salary players would actually have to pay a 40% tax rate on them because their salary would then fall subject to the capital gains tax.

No did you pay taxes last month?

Did you actually tell ZooMa who you were? Or his tweet, as usual, bait?

im silly

If Crim and Scump don't like this line up will they announce FA. Since they haven't signed anything? And have better offers to team with better players?

i guess they could but i doubt it. OG wont make trades if they dont ask those two first.

Since TK is currently without a fourth, any chances they fail to get a 4th and let Kenny walk to OG?

No because they need to have a team in the league or else sponsors would drop them. Every player in the league gets paid a few K too

If tK have lost Methodz, who is their 4th if Kenny is getting locked down?

Probably someone not in the league

What’s the point of forcing a t12 team with a Flukey win stick together?

players are comfortable with certain players. Cod isnt the EPL

what were the two karma tweets about? the laughing emojis and then the 'stories' one

You would have to ask him

Why doesn't crimsix want to play with karma?

He knows the team needed a change and Scump doesnt want to play with Karma

so if tk is low on money say optic give them methodz plus a large amount of money do they still decline the offer cause of a "clause"?

if your talking about for Kenny then yes because they would lose their league spot without kenny. TK could of had Methodz if they paid Rise.

What color hair do you have

Why are you running?

to get swole
scoreboard from EU LG scrim https://imgur.com/8OFtKvB
someone is deleting my posts so im thinking about moving to twitter to post my pix there
........................... thursday stuff

Seems to me like the 3 sub meta is a problem for a lot of teams due to a lack of elite pro sub players in the scene but didn't the 3 sub meta start when pros decided to GA the best ARs? If they decided to use the FG/ITRA would the meta change to 2 subs, Bar, FG/ITRA? Wouldn't that make teams more balanced?

higher chance of seeing 4 BAR meta lol

Couldn't OpTic just offer like 150k for Kenny? Assuming they were going to buy out Gunless when you were on the roster. tK have no money then surely they'd take some money as currently they're left without a fourth as well. At this point OpTic would have the upper hand since they have more money.

OG wont spend that much on their cod team. TK would lose their league spot which means no more sponsors and no more gfuel house. skrapz sold for 100k euros.

What about Doug "Censor"? Wouldnt he be a decent fit compared to methodz?

coL buyout and i dont think they like him

You mentioned in the original post that there were no contracts/contract issues with Optic. Are Scump and Crim under contract? Has Octane signed a new contract since the trade/ does OG have him locked down? If things keep looking iffy with finding a complete team, are these players going to look to split up and join another team? Or will OG just keep going down the list of subs/flex players until they get one no matter their skill level?

with scump and crim its unclear because everyone got quiet after my first post but i know in the past they told people in 8s they had contract problems with OG....something about their youtube which might be why scump isnt uploading much right now. I dont think scump and crim signed a new contract right now but octane is still under his old contract with LG. I think OG will look for more subs but if it becomes a money issue where OG doesnt want to spend then i think scump and crim will go to the new org for sure. i think their in TX right now negotiating.

So all this "new org" stuff you said in your first post was a load of bs?

nope. More pros know who it is and who the guys were chillin with then are publicly letting on.

Could OG go after Huke or is there no chance nV let him go?

probably no chance. hes their young superstar in the making and probably doesnt have a buyout.

Is the new Optic’s 4th Saints? He and the other guys tweeted some stuff that makes me think he may be

Dont think so and saints cant leave the country

you probably have no idea but why the hell did zoomas girl sleep with kosdoff of all people..

Shes young and dumb and the whole TK house set that fugaze up. Their all snakes. Zoomaa said the same: https://www.reddit.com/CoDCompetitive/comments/8c4yhg/comment/dxct2zt

that got me thinking what is really the adderall situation like in the pro scene? is it all just made up rumours and stories?

Addy and other shit is everywhere in the pro scene. Lots of guys get it from a pro player bc he has a scrip. Mods don’t want me to post the DM screenshots because they like him too much ............................................ friday stuff

So all this "new org" stuff you said in your first post was a load of bs?

Nope and ask any pro there in Seattle even revanjb should know about it by now. Im told OGs offer wasnt as close as the other org but the other org wanted Formal too with that original wishlist with gunless. I heard they tried to get Formal and Karma but decided to wait till BO4 since they wouldnt have a league spot and no team was going to sell theres or had a roster the new org wanted. Maybe L1LandO will confirm if he heard the same stuff.

Completely unrelated to this rostermania but because I'm bored and interested, could you say what unknown roster changes could've happened in the past or even some things the community probably didn't know. Other than that, gotta say thanks for being this open about the intel.

no problem and with dougs leak on sillys stream it should be obvious that it was real. Ill have to think of other stories to post next week but i need to think about them to make sure enough people already know it in the scene and its not just me.

What would you say is the most likely Optic roster at this point? So with Hecz only posting about Scump and Crim is it safe to say Formal and Karma are gone to another team?

yea doug leaked it again tonight.
Ill have to make a new thread for wrap up after roster lock Monday night per the mods request

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